Hillary unveils foreign policy roadmap for 21st century
Dec. 16: The House on Wednesday handily approved a repeal of a ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, ratcheting up the pressure on Senate Republicans who have resisted holding a vote on procedural grounds.
The measure that the House approved, 250 to 175, had originally been part of a broader military policy bill. Last week, the Senate failed to break a Republican filibuster of that measure, with only one Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, voting to advance the bill. As a last-shot effort, Democrats decided to take the repeal provision out of the larger military measure, in an effort to address the complaints of Senate Republicans that they had not been given enough time to debate the Pentagon bill.
A stand-alone measure was introduced by Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, and Representative Patrick J. Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Iraq war veteran — at the behest of Ms Collins and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut. Also removed from the broader bill was a provision that would have allowed privately financed abortions at military hospitals and bases. Saying the Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy “contravenes our American values,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her colleagues to support the stand-alone measure on Wednesday. Mr Hoyer, who has been the biggest champion in the House for repeal, a priority of President Obama, said, “It is never too late to do the right thing.” The House bill now goes back to the Senate as a privileged bill, meaning that the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, can call it up immediately.
Among Republicans, Senators Scott P. Brown of Ma-ssachusetts, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and Richard G. Lugar of Indiana have indicated they could be open to voting for a repeal.
By arrangement with the New York Times
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