Wasington Post: New bill to end 'don't ask, don't tell' introduced in Senate

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New bill to end 'don't ask, don't tell' introduced in Senate

By Ed O'Keefe

Trying to revive one of the year's most tumultuous legislative endeavors, senators on Friday introduced a new bill -- with significant support -- that would end the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving openly in the military.

The measure introduced by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) uses the same language authorizing an end to the ban that was included in an annual defense bill that failed a procedural vote on Thursday.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) are cosponsoring the measure and other senators are expected to sign on throughout the day, according to Senate aides not authorized to speak on the record.

Lieberman and Collins first hatched their plans during Thursday's vote on the defense bill, concluding that a standalone measure would ultimately succeed if introduced after senators vote on tax cut legislation. Lieberman approached Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to discuss the bill. The leader, who reluctantly called the procedural vote to jumpstart the Senate calendar, promised Lieberman that he would co-sponsor the bill and introduce it later under a rule that permits the majority leader to bypass the committee process and introduce bills to the full Senate, according to multiple aides.

President Obama signaled his support for the new bill Thursday by e-mailing his campaign supporters and asking them to lobby Republicans who voted against moving forward with the defense bill.

Despite Obama and Reid's support and assurances from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the House will also vote on the bill, it remains unclear when or how it will be considered, if at all.

Democratic Senate aides suggested a Senate vote could come as early as late Tuesday or Wednesday after senators vote to proceed with tax cut legislation on Monday. But senators also have to vote on a trillion-dollar government spending bill and may also consider the New START Treaty -- a bill that White House aides privately concede holds more priority.

"There's no doubt that this process is complex but this can get done," said Fred Sainz, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, a group pushing to end the ban. "It should get done. It will simply require the dedication and creativity of all parties."

Supportive senators insist they should continue to fight in part because Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen want Congress to end the ban this year and allow the Pentagon to phase out enforcement of the ban in an orderly fashion.

Speaking Friday on a flight home from stops in Afghanistan and the Middle East, Gates said he was "disappointed" by the Senate's failed attempt to move forward on the bill, adding he hoped they would try again before adjourning in the coming days.

"If they are unable to do that," he told reporters traveling with him, "my greatest worry will be that then we're at the mercy of the courts and all of the lack of predictability that that entails."