Susan Davis

Mrs. DAVIS of California

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boccieri), who is a major in the Air Force Reserves.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) who happens to be the highest ranking enlisted servicemember serving in Congress.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Richardson).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin). (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy), who is the sponsor of the bill.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield the gentleman an additional 10 seconds.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas, Dr. Snyder.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from New Hampshire (Ms. Shea-Porter).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I just want to remind my colleague that it is not until the Secretary, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the President actually certify that the military is prepared to move forward. There is no defined timeline that this, in fact, would go forward. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the distinguished Speaker of the House of Representatives, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and in which to insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Conditions for repeal have been met, due diligence has been done, and the time to act is here. Regardless of what critics say, the issue before us has been debated in Congress and reviewed by the Department of Defense. In fact, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House have debated repeal for some time. My subcommittee held hearings on the issue. The first of those hearings was on July 23, 2008, actually 15 years after the decision had originally been made, and the second hearing on March 3, 2010. Every Member of this body was welcome to attend, though few Republicans actually made the effort to be there at that time. For those of you who weren't there, the takeaway from these hearings was that the current policy does not work for our Armed Forces and is inconsistent with American values. Next, this House approved language identical to what is before us today as part of a National Defense Authorization Act. And, finally, Mr. Speaker, the DOT completed its study on implementing repeal, confirming our troops are ready for repeal. Seventy percent of the force said that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell will have a positive, a mixed, or no effect on our military. Seventy-four percent of spouses said that open service would not change their support for their spouse staying in the military. And 92 percent of uniformed personnel who believe they have served with a gay servicemember in the past said their unit's ability to work together was ``very good.'' Eighty-nine percent of our warriors on the front line said the same. In short, servicemembers and their spouses have essentially the same view as the American public: Men and women in uniform who are gay should be allowed to serve openly. And I want to add, Mr. Speaker, that our top civilian and military officials agree with the American people. Secretary of Defense Gates has clearly stated that, with careful preparation, repeal poses a low risk to the readiness and effectiveness of our forces. Admiral Mullen shares that view. In fact, Secretary Gates' biggest concern is if Congress doesn't act to repeal, then he points out the courts will impose this change on the Department of Defense, leaving little or no time to prepare and implement the transition plan properly. Now, it is true that the military service chiefs have reservations about the timing of repeal, but they all believe that the language has adequate safeguards and, when implemented correctly, repeal can be done and effectively managed. They acknowledge that leadership at all levels will be key. And I have great confidence, Mr. Speaker, in the leaders who are serving in our military and their professionalism. After all, we trust them with decisions about our Nation's safety. We can trust them to put this transition into practice in a way that addresses the needs of our force. But we cannot begin this new challenge until we repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Mr. Speaker, change is never easy, but it is rarely as necessary as it is today. In addition to clear statistics in favor of repeal, the survey responses got to what is at the heart of this issue--fairness. Gay and lesbian personnel have the same values, the same values toward their service as servicemembers at large. What is that? It is love of their country. It is honor. It is respect. It is integrity and service over self. In the words of one gay servicemember, repeal would simply ``take the knife out of my back. You have no idea what it is like to have to serve in silence.'' If we miss this opportunity to repeal this law, history will judge us poorly for the damage we have done to our Nation and our military. I urge Members of this House to be on the right side of history and help end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Ms. CHU asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1764, I call up the bill (H.R. 2965) to amend the Small Business Act with respect to the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and I have a motion at the desk.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Sanchez).

Mrs. DAVIS of California

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 75) authorizing the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for an event marking the 50th anniversary of the inaugural address of President John F. Kennedy.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I thank the gentleman for his words. I ask for an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this Senate concurrent resolution authorizes use of the Capitol rotunda on January 20, 2011, for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's inaugural address. In that speech half a century ago, the President urged our country forward with words that still apply today, particularly as we close one session of Congress and start another. President Kennedy said, ``So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.'' Madam Speaker, I am sincerely looking forward to this commemorative ceremony. I know of no controversy to this measure and urge my colleagues to support Senate Concurrent Resolution 75. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. DAVIS of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous matter on the measure now under consideration.

Mrs. DAVIS of California

Mrs. DAVIS of California. I rise today to say thank you, thank you to Ike for being such a great mentor, for taking me under your wing, for telling me a little bit about what it was like for you when you chaired the Personnel Committee a number of years ago. And I think you told me that early on, when I came onto the Armed Services Committee, but it was a few years later when I actually had the great honor of chairing that subcommittee. And then I felt such an incredible burden because I thought, you know, Ike has done this before, and how could I live up to who he had been and the way he had cared for the troops and their families and kind of got through some of the really tough times, because when you deal with those issues, you know that you're going to be looking, wanting to do everything in the world when you can't, when there are limits to what you can do. And I just really remember you telling me about that and letting me know, get in there, but you better do a good job, he said. I want you to do a good job. I don't want you to screw it up. And so I certainly had that burden. But more than anything else, Ike, you are such a splendid gentleman, and we use the word kind of loosely here. Sometimes I think we often say ``to the gentleman from'' whatever State that might be. You are the gentleman. You are the epitome of what we all believe to be someone who serves in this body and who cares so deeply and who has such strong principles and who teaches us all. And I think we all want to live up to that standard you set. It's not easy, and you made it really hard for everybody to do that, but I think we all strive for that the best we can. I know that I didn't have an opportunity to be in your district, but you came to my district. And you and your late wife, Susie, were there, and we had just the most marvelous evening. I remember I was then at an event that you spoke at, and I remember looking around the room and everybody was just, you know, transfixed, really, on your words. You were telling one of those stories and it went on forever, but that didn't seem to bother anybody. They were just delighted to be in your company and to hear you speak and to hear the way you interacted with all the people in the room, but telling those stories. President Truman, of course, came into that story and your father. I have just enjoyed serving with you. I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss you. It's going to be a lot. I know you're going to miss everybody here as well. But we are all so much better for having served with you. Thank you.