Main | Monday, March 15, 2010

Barney Frank: The White House Doesn't Want DADT Repealed This Year

According to Rep. Barney Frank, the reason the DADT repeal wasn't attached to a defense appropriations bill is that the White House doesn't want it repealed this year. Kerry Eleveld at the Advocate:
As Rep. Barney Frank told me Friday, “I’m disappointed with the administration talking about delaying legislation for a year. But I’m working with Patrick Murphy [the lead sponsor of the House repeal bill] on it and I’m hoping we can push ahead.” Like many pro-repeal advocates, Frank has consistently pinpointed the National Defense Authorization Act as “the only vehicle” for overturning the ban legislatively. When I noted that the White House has failed to designate the defense authorization bill over a stand-alone bill as its preferred method for repealing the policy, Frank responded, “That’s because they don’t want it done this year, not because they want it done separately.” If Frank is correct, that would help clarify two things: (1) why administration officials declined to comment on the introduction of Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s new repeal bill — because they actually prefer the defense authorization act over a stand-alone bill; (2) why they haven’t advocated for a repeal measure to be included in this year’s authorization act — because they would prefer the issue recede into the shadows until next year.
UPDATE: Barney Frank backpedals:
The Hill that he was talking about the Pentagon's stance, not the White House's position on the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. "I said that about the Pentagon, the quote may have gotten garbled," he said in a phone interview. But Frank also told the Advocate that “I’m disappointed with the administration talking about delaying legislation for a year. But I’m working with Patrick Murphy [the lead sponsor of the House repeal bill] on it and I’m hoping we can push ahead."Frank is working on legislation to get rid of the policy. Some lawmakers have also suggested that a repeal be attached to next year's defense authorization bill.
(Via - AmericaBlog)

Labels: , , , , ,

comments powered by Disqus

<<Home