The U.S. House of Representatives voted 234-194 to include a repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy banning open homosexuals from service in the armed forces to a defense spending bill Thursday night. Hours earlier, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 16-12 to approve the repeal for their version of the must-pass bill.
Only five House Republicans voted in favor of the repeal, while 26 Democrats voted against. In the Senate committee, the only Republican to support the repeal was Sen. Susan Collins of Maine; Democrat Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia joined GOP members against the move before the committee voted 18-10 to send the bill to the Senate floor.
President Obama immediately issued a statement expressing satisfaction with the progress of the repeal. "I have long advocated that we repeal 'Don't Ask Don't Tell', and I am pleased that both the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee took important bipartisan steps toward repeal tonight," he said, adding that the measure "will help make our Armed Forces even stronger and more inclusive."
Several conservative lawmakers expressed outrage that the ban was being rushed through - anticipating an end to momentum with the loss of several Democrat seats in November - before the Pentagon had a chance to submit the results of a review of how repealing the ban would affect military readiness, retention, recruiting, and morale.
1 comments:
Obama has proven that not only is he not good at effectively leading in a massive cleanup, he is also a master at creating messes.
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