Pat Dollard

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Washington Post:

Efforts to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy this year could be in jeopardy as top senators are discussing removing language repealing the ban from the annual Defense authorization bill.

Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman and ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, are exploring ways to introduce a revised version of the bill that could be debated and approved in two to three days, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Other sources cautioned that negotiations are ongoing and that a final decision should be known before the Senate meets for its lame-duck session. McCain’s attempts to remove repeal provisions should be expected, after Republican scored major election gains, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record.

Levin’s office did not return requests for comment, but a McCain spokeswoman confirmed the two are talking about changing the current defense bill.

“Among other concerns, the senator remains opposed to the inclusion of the provision repealing the ‘don’t Ask, don’t tell’ law,” said McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan.

The authorization measure failed a test vote in September that would have allowed the Senate to proceed to debate. Republicans unanimously voted against moving forward after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) included an immigration reform amendment to the bill and prohibited Republicans from adding other amendments.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said there is still “ample time” to pass a defense bill that repeals “don’t ask, don’t tell” before the end of this year. Any talk of a watered-down defense bill, “is unacceptable and offensive to the gay and lesbian service members who risk their lives every day,” Sarvis said.

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a group strongly opposed to ending the ban, said in an e-mail: “There is absolutely no reason to assign priority to legislation that would do harm to the All-Volunteer Force, just to help President Obama to deliver on his political campaign promises. If President Obama really wants to concentrate on more important matters, such as the economy, he should do the nation a favor and let the losing gays-in-the-military cause go.”

Civilian and uniformed Pentagon leaders repeated their support on repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” this weekend. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he wants Congress to repeal the gay ban by the end of the year, but hedged a bit by suggesting it might not happen.

“I would like to see the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ but I’m not sure what the prospects for that are, and we’ll just have to see,” Gates told reporters traveling with him to Australia. The defense secretary said lawmakers should wait to vote on repeal until after Dec. 1, when a Pentagon report on how the military would end the gay ban is due to Obama.

Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, who opposes ending the ban, said in a conversation this weekend with reporters in San Diego: “This is not a social thing. This is combat effectiveness.”

Repealing the ban could have unique consequences and risks for the Marine Corps, Amos said. “I’m trying to determine how to measure that risk,” he said. Amos first signaled opposition to repeal during his Senate confirmation hearing in September.