[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCING THE HONEST AND OPEN TESTIMONY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 2, 2009

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
Honest and Open Testimony Act, a bill that helps provide for an honest 
and open discussion regarding Don't Ask, Don't Tell by allowing active-
duty members of the Armed Forces, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and 
transgender (GLBT) members, to openly testify in Congressional hearings 
without fear of retribution. The Honest and Open Testimony Act expands 
existing whistleblower protections between members of the Armed Forces 
and Members of Congress to include communications from active-duty 
service members who testify concerning Don't Ask, Don't Tell in a 
Congressional hearing, as well as those who do so and disclose their 
sexual orientation.
  The United States of America prides itself on having the finest 
military in the world because of the hard work, dedication, and 
sacrifices of its brave men and women in uniform. And yet, under the 
discriminatory law known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the talents and 
contributions of our GLBT service members continue to be ignored simply 
because of who they are. As you know, Don't Ask, Don't Tell was signed 
into law in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton as a compromise to 
allow gay and lesbian service members to serve in the military. To the 
contrary, Don't Ask, Don't Tell compromises the integrity of our troops 
and kicks them out to boot. For more than fifteen years, Don't Ask, 
Don't Tell has negatively impacted the lives and livelihoods of these 
military professionals and deprived our Armed Forces of their honorable 
service. This is not only a disservice to them, but to our country as a 
whole.
  Don't Ask, Don't Tell hurts our troops, runs counter to the values of 
our Armed Forces, and threatens our national security. Since the law 
was implemented in 1994, over 13,500 qualified service members have 
been lost to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and counting. With each passing 
day, we lose approximately two service members to this misguided, 
unjust, and debilitating policy. Furthermore, Don't Ask, Don't Tell 
continues to undermine and demoralize the more than 65,000 GLBT 
Americans currently serving on active duty.
  Keeping good troops is good policy, and our GLBT troops are among our 
most talented and dedicated. As the United States continues to work 
toward responsibly ending the war in Iraq and reengages the threat from 
al Qaeda in Afghanistan, our GLBT service members offer invaluable 
skills that enhance our military's potency and readiness. They are 
linguists, aviators, medics, and highly trained soldiers who are 
involved in valuable operations that have nothing to do with their 
sexual orientation and everything to do with protecting our freedom and 
advancing our national security interests. Above all, however, they 
offer their lives to serve their country.
  I am extremely proud of the men and women who serve in our Armed 
Forces and truly appreciate the countless sacrifices they continue to 
make every single day to protect this nation and the American people. 
They deserve better than Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In order for Congress 
to have an honest and open discussion about the relevance of the 
current law, as well as on how to best implement its repeal, its 
members must hear from those about whom Don't Ask, Don't Tell was 
written--active-duty GLBT troops. Now is the time to take action.
  Madam Speaker, I realize that this issue is considered controversial, 
but it should not be. As Congress prepares to debate the future of 
Don't Ask, Don't Tell with hearings in the Senate and in the House of 
Representatives, we must ensure that we hear all sides of the issue and 
especially from active-duty GLBT service members. The Honest and Open 
Testimony Act helps achieve this by addressing a major barrier to an 
inclusive, transparent, and complete hearing process--fear of 
retribution for testifying honestly and openly about the consequences 
of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the Armed Forces. I urge my colleagues to 
support this important bill, which would bring us one step closer to 
repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell once and for all and replacing it with 
a policy of inclusion and non-discrimination.

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