[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL

  (Ms. SPEIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, you know, the Army Corps of Engineers had a 
saying during World War II: ``The difficult we do immediately. The 
impossible takes a little longer.''
  In 1993, President Clinton tried to do the impossible by lifting the 
decades-long ban on gay and lesbian soldiers serving openly in the 
military. Unfortunately, Congress opposed him, and the discriminatory 
Don't Ask, Don't Tell law was passed.
  Since then, over 13,500 servicemembers have been fired and countless 
other courageous and qualified Americans have been prevented from 
serving. Well, it's been 17 long and painful years since we tried to do 
the impossible.
  Congress now has the chance to end this injustice. The President 
agrees, the military agrees, the American people agree. Let's honor our 
Nation's over 1 million gay veterans this Memorial Day. This week, 
let's lift the ban on gays serving openly once and for all.

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