DADT Repeal Sponsor Rep. Patrick Murphy: Hearings Will Come In Spring 2010

DADT repeal sponsor Rep. Patrick Murphy says he expects the first hearings to take place in the spring of 2010. Murphy tells the Washington Blade that his bill has 166 cosponsors and that another 10 House reps have promised to vote for the repeal even though they aren't listed.

Over on the Senate side, the DADT repeal fight is already sorely missing Ted Kennedy, but Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has said that Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) has agreed to hearings this fall. Murphy thinks that "the votes are there" in the Senate, but his House bill will need 218 votes. According to Murphy's latest numbers, he has 176.