Reed Statement on Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Statement

Today, after the U.S. Senate voted 63-33 to advance the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a cosponsor of the bill and a member of the Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell is an outdated policy and today our nation took an important step forward.

"A strong majority of the American people and our men and women in uniform support removing this barrier to service, and I am pleased we were able to get a strong, bipartisan vote for repeal.

"Both our civilian and uniformed military leadership saw this policy as preventing talented, highly-skilled soldiers from honorably serving our nation.

"Congress was right to act. If we didn't pass this law now it would have been decided in the courts on an ad hoc basis that could have put the military in a difficult situation. This legislation gives the Pentagon sufficient time to prepare the Armed Forces for the implementation of this new policy."

Final passage of the bill, which will require a simple majority vote, is expected at 3 p.m. today.

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