Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

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

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McKEON. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairwoman, next Monday is Memorial Day. Americans will pause in many ways and in many places to honor and celebrate the courage, sacrifices, and patriotism of those who have served and are serving this Nation in the Armed Forces. The Hill newspaper yesterday carried a special insert entitled, ``A Tribute to the Troops.'' Among the contributors were Mrs. Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. They coauthored a piece emphasizing that ``it is our sacred obligation as Americans to take care of the men, women, and families who protect and serve this country.'' I could not agree more with them. We do have a sacred obligation to those who care to serve. That is why today I rise in strong opposition to the amendment being offered by Representative Murphy that would have Congress act to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell even before the comprehensive review directed by the Secretary of Defense is completed and even before Congress has received the comprehensive views of those who will be most directly affected by any change in the law. They have unhesitatingly and selflessly responded in a magnificent manner, without hesitation, putting mission and Nation ahead of self and family. Now the proponents of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell want to rush a vote to the floor, disrupting the process that was put in place earlier this year to get input from those people most affected by this decision. After making the continuous sacrifice of fighting two wars over the course of 8 years, the men and women of our military deserve to be heard. Congress acting first is the equivalent of turning to our men and women in uniform and their families and saying, your opinions don't count. I've read into the Record letters from the chairmen of each of the services asking us to not do this. Don't disrespect the military. Give them the opportunity to have their input. The Secretary also sent us a letter, and his letter said: ``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. A critical element of this effort is the need to systemically 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're 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.'' Now, I know that this amendment and those proponents will say, well, we're going to take this vote, but we will still follow the process. We will have the survey. But you all know, I mean, you have to know that when the surveyors go out into the field, they're already going to have heard on the news--as was already reported on Fox News tonight--the Senate repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell. So how are they given an opportunity to--I mean, this is a sham. It is a total sham from here forward if this amendment passes tonight. You have the chairman of the committee, a man who has devoted years of his life to our young men and women in uniform, and it's not an easy thing for him, but he stands up to say no on this amendment. I join him in saying no on this amendment. Most of the members of the committee-- if we had had a chance to bring this up in committee where it should have been, it wouldn't be here tonight.

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. At this time I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman).

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 yield myself such time as I may consume. You know, I listened raptly to the majority leader. I always try to. He always has a lot to say, and he says it very well. And that was a very eloquent speech, and because you are a Member of Congress and because we are Members of Congress, we can come here to the floor and we can express our opinion. I'm asking that the members of the armed services have the same opportunity before we have this vote tonight on the Murphy amendment. And the reference was made to General Powell. And I was not on the committee at the time. But when Don't Ask, Don't Tell was instituted, he was a strong proponent. And he also mentioned that he didn't believe the comparison held up between the blacks having civil rights and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell. So while I think that your comments were very, very well spoken, I think all of us should have that opportunity to have that great debate. I just think that we should follow the process that's been established where the Secretary appoints this study. They make the study, and then after the study is presented to us in December, after the military has a chance to give their say, that after the study is released, we follow the process. I don't know why we're so afraid to stick with the policy, to listen to the members of the armed services, to give them the opportunities they have. I have letters from each of the Chairmen and the members of the Joint Chiefs saying we owe that to them. We should not break faith with them. They went out in good faith after the Secretary set that policy, and now we're short circuiting. I would be happy to yield to the majority leader.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. I do not oppose the amendment; in fact, I support the amendment, and I thank the gentleman for taking care of this problem. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition, but I do not oppose the amendment.

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

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

Mr. McKEON

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. 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 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions).

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

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

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the ranking member on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer).

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

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bartlett). He's the ranking member on the Air and Land Subcommittee of the committee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, continuing my earlier comments, I was right in the middle of a letter by Secretary Gates. I will catch everybody up to speed. The Secretary said, prior to any legislative action, the military should 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. I'm inserting some of my own language now. I would like to say that we will be asked to vote on an amendment later today without having the value and the important information that would come from this, without being able to act in a most informed and effective manner. The Secretary goes on to say a critical element of this effort is the need to systematically engage our forces, their families and the broader military community throughout the 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. Now, Mr. Skelton, chairman of the committee, spoke to the Secretary 2 days ago, and the Secretary said, I stand by my letter. Next I have a letter from Admiral Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations. I spoke to each of the chiefs day before yesterday, I believe it was, on May 26, and he sent a letter, part of which says, I share the view of Secretary Gates that the best approach would be to complete the DOD review before there's any legislation to change the law. My concern is that legislative changes, at this point, regardless of the precise language used, may cause confusion on the status of the law in the fleet and disrupt the review process itself by leading sailors to question whether their input matters. Obtaining the views and opinions of the force and assessing them in light of the issues involved will be complicated by a shifting legislative backdrop and its associated debate. The admiral told me he was very concerned about what it would do in the force, the confusion that would be caused, and losing the credibility, actually, of him and his colleagues, because they have gone out. Based on what the President said, based on what the Secretary said earlier this year, they have gone to the force and told them they would be involved in this process; and it breaks faith with them and the things that they have tried to tell the force. I will read General Schwartz's letter. General Schwartz is the Chief of the Air Force. He said, I believe it's important, a matter of keeping faith with those currently serving in the Armed Forces, that the Secretary of Defense commission review be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law, which is the Murphy amendment which we'll be discussing and voting on later today or tomorrow. Such action allows me to provide the best military advice to the President and sends an important signal to our airmen and their families that their opinion matters. To do otherwise, in my view, would be presumptive, and would reflect an intent to act before all relevant factors are assessed, digested and understood. I yield back the balance of my time.