From The Hill:
Levin: Lame-duck Senate 'will get to' repeal of 'Don't ask'
By Roxana Tiron - 12/07/10 03:37 PM ET
The leading Senate Democrat on military affairs on Tuesday expressed optimism that the upper chamber would take up the bill that contains the "Don't ask, don't tell" repeal in coming days.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said on Tuesday he thinks the Senate "will get to a vote" on the 2011 defense authorization bill, critical for military policy, this week.
Without passage of the 2011 defense authorization bill this year, the chances for repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military are dimmer next year, with Republicans holding the House majority and more seats in the Senate. The GOP is generally more skeptical of the administration's plan for repeal.
Levin, a chief supporter of repeal, told reporters that Democrats have a "good shot" at getting the 60 votes necessary to start debating the defense bill.
Levin said he has been discussing with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) how to proceed with the defense authorization bill.
Reid's office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said this week he was not optimistic the Senate would get to the repeal during the lame duck.
And this, related, also from The Hill:
Lieberman wants Senate to stay in session until it repeals 'Don't ask' policy
By Michael O'Brien - 12/06/10 10:55 AM ET
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) wants the Senate to stay in session until it's passed legislation to do away with the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Lieberman, a key Senate proponent of repealing the military's ban on openly gay or lesbian members, doesn't want the chamber to adjourn until it's acted on a defense authorization bill that contains a provision to do away with the policy.
“Sen. Lieberman believes that there are at least 60 votes to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year, provided that leadership allows time for sufficient debate and amendments," Lieberman spokeswoman Erika Masonhall said. "Wanting to go home is not an acceptable excuse for failing to pass a bill that provides essential support for our troops and veterans and failing to take action that the president, the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have called for.”
The senator also appeared to endorse Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart's demand that the Senate stay in session in a tweet on Monday.
Democrats appear to have the 60 votes necessary to overcome any GOP-led filibuster of the defense bill, because some Republicans — like Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.) — have said they support the repeal.
But all 42 GOP senators have vowed to block any legislation from moving forward until the Senate passes an extension of expiring Bush-era tax cuts for all income brackets. Even the Republicans who favor repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" have made clear they won't allow the defense bill to move forward until tax cuts are addressed.
That puts Democrats up against a tight legislative calendar. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Saturday that he hopes to finish work by Dec. 17 and avoid working up until the Christmas holiday, as the Senate had done last year.
But Democrats face a busy schedule in which they hope to handle other controversial pieces of legislation, such as the DREAM Act. Republicans have meanwhile demanded weeks to debate the defense bill, a timeline that would seem to kick the legislation — and with it, the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" — until next year.
At that point, new senators will have been sworn in, giving the GOP control of 47 seats and making passing a defense bill including a repeal of the policy difficult, if not impossible.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) wants the Senate to stay in session until it's passed legislation to do away with the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Lieberman, a key Senate proponent of repealing the military's ban on openly gay or lesbian members, doesn't want the chamber to adjourn until it's acted on a defense authorization bill that contains a provision to do away with the policy.
“Sen. Lieberman believes that there are at least 60 votes to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year, provided that leadership allows time for sufficient debate and amendments," Lieberman spokeswoman Erika Masonhall said. "Wanting to go home is not an acceptable excuse for failing to pass a bill that provides essential support for our troops and veterans and failing to take action that the president, the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have called for.”
The senator also appeared to endorse Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart's demand that the Senate stay in session in a tweet on Monday.
Democrats appear to have the 60 votes necessary to overcome any GOP-led filibuster of the defense bill, because some Republicans — like Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.) — have said they support the repeal.
But all 42 GOP senators have vowed to block any legislation from moving forward until the Senate passes an extension of expiring Bush-era tax cuts for all income brackets. Even the Republicans who favor repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" have made clear they won't allow the defense bill to move forward until tax cuts are addressed.
That puts Democrats up against a tight legislative calendar. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Saturday that he hopes to finish work by Dec. 17 and avoid working up until the Christmas holiday, as the Senate had done last year.
But Democrats face a busy schedule in which they hope to handle other controversial pieces of legislation, such as the DREAM Act. Republicans have meanwhile demanded weeks to debate the defense bill, a timeline that would seem to kick the legislation — and with it, the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" — until next year.
At that point, new senators will have been sworn in, giving the GOP control of 47 seats and making passing a defense bill including a repeal of the policy difficult, if not impossible.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) wants the Senate to stay in session until it's passed legislation to do away with the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Lieberman, a key Senate proponent of repealing the military's ban on openly gay or lesbian members, doesn't want the chamber to adjourn until it's acted on a defense authorization bill that contains a provision to do away with the policy.
“Sen. Lieberman believes that there are at least 60 votes to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year, provided that leadership allows time for sufficient debate and amendments," Lieberman spokeswoman Erika Masonhall said. "Wanting to go home is not an acceptable excuse for failing to pass a bill that provides essential support for our troops and veterans and failing to take action that the president, the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have called for.”
The senator also appeared to endorse Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart's demand that the Senate stay in session in a tweet on Monday.
Democrats appear to have the 60 votes necessary to overcome any GOP-led filibuster of the defense bill, because some Republicans — like Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.) — have said they support the repeal.
But all 42 GOP senators have vowed to block any legislation from moving forward until the Senate passes an extension of expiring Bush-era tax cuts for all income brackets. Even the Republicans who favor repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" have made clear they won't allow the defense bill to move forward until tax cuts are addressed.
That puts Democrats up against a tight legislative calendar. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Saturday that he hopes to finish work by Dec. 17 and avoid working up until the Christmas holiday, as the Senate had done last year.
But Democrats face a busy schedule in which they hope to handle other controversial pieces of legislation, such as the DREAM Act. Republicans have meanwhile demanded weeks to debate the defense bill, a timeline that would seem to kick the legislation — and with it, the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" — until next year.
At that point, new senators will have been sworn in, giving the GOP control of 47 seats and making passing a defense bill including a repeal of the policy difficult, if not impossible.
No comments:
Post a Comment