GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter To Introduce Bill To Blockade DADT Repeal Certification

Hunter’s measure would require the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps chiefs to submit to the congressional defense committees “written certification that repeal … will not degrade the readiness, effectiveness, cohesion and morale of combat arms units and personnel of the armed force under [each] officer’s jurisdiction engaged in combat, deployed to a combat theater, or preparing for deployment to a combat theater,” according to a copy obtained by The Hill. “The emphasis here is on combat troops,” said the aide, “because when Congress heard from the military chiefs, it was the leaders of the Army and Marine Corps who had the strongest concerns — the services that are most engaged in war right now.”According to an aide to Hunter, 15-20 other GOP reps have signed on to be cosponsors of his bill.