[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 83 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H4200-H4201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SUPPORTING REPEAL OF DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
amendment from yesterday, and I am proud to have joined my colleagues 
in repealing the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
  As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Select 
Intelligence Oversight Panel, I did so not only because I believe this 
is an important step toward full LGBT equality, but also because I 
believe repealing the policy will make our military stronger and our 
Nation more secure.
  Mr. Speaker, since the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was created in 
1993, more than 13,000 able-bodied patriotic Americans have been 
jettisoned from the military simply because of who they are. These are 
brave men and women who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for 
our country. We owe these Americans a debt of gratitude, not disrespect 
and dishonor.
  This was not a difficult vote for me. The preamble to our 
Constitution states: ``We, the people, in order to form a more perfect 
Union, to provide for the common defense, and secure the blessings of 
liberty, do ordain and establish this Constitution.'' Our President 
often says we are in the constant process of making our Nation a more 
perfect Union.
  In my view, this amendment is vital if we are to uphold the 
Constitution's promise of equal protection to gays and lesbians in my 
home State of Florida and all across America. My friends in the LGBT 
community know all too well that serving their Nation openly and 
honestly in the Armed Forces is but one of many rights they are 
currently denied. That's wrong, and with this vote we made it right.
  Yet as important as this amendment is towards bestowing full civil 
rights for gays and lesbians, it is equally important because it will 
improve our military readiness and make our Nation more secure. Too 
often we are told in this Chamber that we must choose between our 
security and our liberty. And I generally reject that false choice. But 
in this case, with this vote, we both expand civil liberties and make 
our Nation more secure.
  Mr. Speaker, since the attacks of September 11, when our Nation has

[[Page H4201]]

been waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, at the very time that we have 
been under serious and sustained threats from global terror networks, 
the United States military has discharged more than 800 soldiers in 
mission-critical positions, including Arabic and Farsi linguists. Why? 
Are they bad translators or poor soldiers, marines, or airmen? No, they 
were discharged for only one reason, because they were gay or lesbian.
  They were discharged despite the fact they made valuable 
contributions to our intelligence community. They were discharged 
despite the fact we have an alarming shortage of translators. So this 
policy is not only an affront to civil liberties; but at a time when we 
are fighting two wars, it is idiotic.
  But it is important to repeal this policy for a third reason. It is 
dishonorable. Gays and lesbians are serving in our Nation's Armed 
Forces with great distinction. They always have. The only question is 
whether our government must continue to ask them to lie about their 
sexual orientation in order to do so. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy 
is the only law in the country that requires people to be dishonest 
about their personal lives or face the possibility of being fired.
  Our own Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael 
Mullen, recently said, ``No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot 
escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which 
forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend 
their fellow citizens. For me personally, it comes down to integrity--
theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.''
  Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more. No one should have to lie to 
perform any job, but especially not those sworn to protect our Nation. 
I think it is only fitting that this amendment was offered by the first 
Iraq war veteran to serve in Congress, Representative Patrick Murphy of 
Pennsylvania. Congressman Murphy served in Bosnia and in the famed 82nd 
Airborne in Iraq. So when he brought his amendment before this House, 
he did so with deep love for his country and with our military's best 
interests at heart.
  The policy Congressman Murphy crafted, in cooperation with our 
Commander in Chief and Pentagon leaders, is a responsible one. It 
merely unties the hands of leaders at the Pentagon by removing the 
outdated Don't Ask, Don't Tell statute, while ensuring that the 
transition to a new personnel policy takes place without disruption to 
our fighting force.

                              {time}  1630

  In the spirit of equality and a more perfect Union, with the 
confidence we are making our Nation more secure, and with pride that we 
are ending a policy of dishonor, we uphold our American values by 
repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

                          ____________________