Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chair, we do have other things we can talk about here today, and seeing how the Rules Committee didn't give us time to fully debate the Murphy amendment on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, we will use the time for that. I yield 2 minutes the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman), a member of the committee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), the ranking member on the Readiness Subcommittee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), the ranking member on the Military Personnel Subcommittee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner), the ranking member on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

Mr. McKEON. I yield 1 minute at this time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway), a member of the committee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana, a member of the committee, Dr. Fleming.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin), the ranking member of the Seapower Subcommittee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman), a member of the committee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.

Mr. McKEON. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, many of the Members on our side have been talking about the Murphy amendment that will be coming up later today. We were concerned that we were only given 10 minutes to debate that amendment, something that will be very far-reaching, very important to all of the members of the armed services and to the country. I would like to talk just a little bit about the process that we have been going through this year. Earlier this year, the President, in his State of the Union speech, told the Nation that he wanted to see Don't Ask, Don't Tell repealed by the end of the year. The Secretary, in responding to the President's message, put a process in place, a process that would give to the Congress a report covering many items. In March, the Secretary selected General Ham and Jeh Johnson, Defense Counsel for the Defense Department, two very good men, men of high integrity, men that have taken this responsibility very seriously. I met with them, and I talked to them about the process, about what they were going to do, how they would work to make it fair. This month, just a couple of weeks ago, they have let a contract to Westat, a Rockville-based firm that has done survey work for the Defense Manpower Data Center to conduct surveys on military personnel, military spouses, and the comprehensive review working group. They have set their criteria on how they are going to move forward on this survey. They will sample 350,000 members of the military and their families. They will survey 100,000 active duty military, 70,000 of their spouses, 100,000 of the Reserve component military, and 80,000 of their spouses. The sample size will be dictated by randomized statistically valid responses from various subelements of each component. Servicemembers will be asked to respond by mid-July, spouses by the end of August. They will develop and identify the sample of servicemembers and spouses. I specifically asked them if they would reach out to make sure that all members were represented, which is what they are going to do. They are going to set up a system whereby members of the military who may be homosexual will be able to have their feelings known and keep their confidence. That report, as they have been set out now to work on, will reach out to the military. They will then report back to us no later than the first of December, and at that point we are asked to move forward. I have a letter here from Secretary Gates that says in part, I believe in the strongest possible terms that the department must, prior to any legislative action, be allowed the opportunity to conduct a thorough, objective, and systematic assessment of the impact of such a policy change; develop an attentive, comprehensive implementation plan, and provide the President and the Congress with the results of this effort in order to ensure that this step is taken in the most informed and effective manner. Mr. Chairman, I include for the Record the entire letter from Admiral Mullen and Secretary Gates. The Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC, April 30, 2010. Hon. Ike Skelton, Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing in response to your letter of April 28 requesting my views on the advisability of legislative action to repeal the so-called ``Don't Ask Don't Tell'' statute prior to the completion of the Department of Defense review of this matter. I believe in the strongest possible terms that the Department must, prior to any legislative action, be allowed the opportunity to conduct a thorough, objective, and systematic assessment of the impact of such a policy change; develop an attentive comprehensive implementation plan, and provide the President and the Congress with the results of this effort in order to ensure that this step is taken in the most informed and effective manner. A critical element of this effort is the need to systematically engage our forces, their families, and the broader military community throughout this process. Our military must be afforded the opportunity to inform us of their concerns, insights, and suggestions if we are to carry out this change successfully. Therefore, I strongly oppose any legislation that seeks to change this policy prior to the completion of this vital assessment process. Further, I hope Congress will not do so, as it would send a very damaging message to our men and women in uniform that in essence their views, concerns, and perspectives do not matter on an issue with such a direct impact and consequence for them and their families. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham), the sponsor of one of the amendments en bloc.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I will not oppose the amendment.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre ), a member of the committee. (Mr. McINTYRE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate my friend from Rhode Island's passion, and I share that with him. I have very deep concerns about the military. They have been asked over and over again, and they have responded over and over and over again. I have been to funerals and I have looked into the parents' eyes and talked to them. I also know in war there are no unwounded, as somebody more eloquent than I stated, and that is one of the tragedies. The other tragedy is what happened on 9/11, where we were attacked, and now we have been engaged in this worldwide war on terrorism. It is not something we asked for. It is just something that our Nation has responded from the days of the creation of this Nation, when the men rode to the sound of the guns, when they died at Valley Forge, frozen to death, starved to death. They have sacrificed for years. I am saying, give them an opportunity to have their say, to follow through with the plan that has been set. I yield back my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It has been a while since I read any of these letters. Maybe some people haven't heard of these letters yet, so I would like to read them. We are only given 5 minutes to discuss Don't Ask, Don't Tell, so we have to talk about it when we get an opportunity, because this is something that I think is going to affect the 2.5 million people in the military plus their families. So we have very strong feelings about this. It is unfortunate that the majority has only given us 5 minutes in which to express our views and have a chance to let the people of America know what is happening here. This is a letter from Secretary Gates that was written April 30, and then 2 days ago he reaffirmed his stand, that he still stands by what he wrote to Chairman Skelton: ``Dear Mr. Chairman, I am writing in response to your letter of April 28th requesting my views on the advisability of legislative action.'' So he is talking about the possibility that the Murphy amendment would be made in order for this legislation taken to repeal the so- called Don't Ask, Don't Tell statute prior to the completion of the Department of Defense review of this matter. ``I believe in the strongest possible terms that the Department must, prior to any legislative action, be allowed the opportunity to conduct a thorough, objective, and systematic assessment of the impact of such a policy change, develop an attentive, comprehensive plan, and provide the President and the Congress with the results of this effort in order to ensure that this step is taken in the most informed and effective manner. ``A critical element of this effort is the need to systematically engage our forces, their families, and the broader military community throughout this process. Our military must be afforded the opportunity to inform us of their concerns, insights, and suggestions if we are to carry out this change successfully. ``Therefore, I strongly oppose any legislation that seeks to change this policy prior to the completion of this vital assessment process. Further, I hope Congress will not do so, as it would send a very damaging message to our men and women in uniform that in essence their views, concerns, and perspectives do not matter on an issue with such direct impact and consequence for them and their families.'' Signed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, and Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense. May I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. McKEON. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. May I inquire again of the time remaining?

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. I continue to reserve.

Mr. McKEON. I continue to reserve.

Mr. McKEON. I will support the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.