Ninety-six members of Congress requested all information on this year's "don't ask, don't tell" discharges to prepare for the upcoming debate on the ban on gays in the military.
Rep. Jim Moran penned the letter to Defense secretary Robert Gates, according to a press release by the Virginia Democrat.
“This policy is putting our national security at risk and wastes tens of millions of taxpayer dollars every year in unrecoverable recruiting and training expenditures,” Moran wrote in a letter dated December 18 and released to reporters Tuesday. “Until we repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ it will continue to impose needless costs, reduce the number of specialists trained to combat urgent national security threats, demoralize the estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian active-duty service members, and deter many more good men and women from service.”
Only one Republican, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, signed the letter. In the past, Ros-Lehtinen came out against the gay marriage ban in her home state of Florida, and she is currently a cosponsor of Rep. Tammy Baldwin's bill to expand domestic-partner benefits to partners of federal workers. Baldwin and representatives Jared Polis and Barney Frank, the three openly gay members of the House, each also signed the letter. Rep. Patrick Murphy, the sponsor of the bill to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," has attached his name as well.
Moran gave the Pentagon a January 15 deadline for sending the information.
The full letter and signatories are on the next page ...
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