The U.S. House of Representatives passed a stand-alone repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy this afternoon. The House previously passed a measure to overturn the policy as part of a piece of defense legislation, but recent repeal stalls in the Senate prompted House leaders to revisit the issue.
The final vote total was 250 to 175.
Some 15 Republicans voted for repeal. Only five Republicans voted for repeal when the House took on the measure earlier in the year.
In the debate leading up to a final vote on the bill, U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) made an impassioned plea on the House floor for passage.
Late this afternoon, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me.) announced a plan to bring a repeal of the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy to the Senate for a full vote apart from the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.
“We are working with our colleagues and are confident that there are at least 60 Senators who support repeal,” Lieberman Tweeted this afternoon.
According to Lieberman’s Twitter page, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will issue a “Rule 14” on the measure, which will allow the bill to bypass The Senate Armed Services Committee and come directly to the floor for a vote.
The U.S. Senate today failed to move forward on the 2011 Defense Authorization Act, which included repeal language for the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, after supporters of the bill were unable to get the necessary 60 votes to avoid a Republican filibuster.
Republicans blocked the cloture vote over objections to the procedure of the debate.
The vote total was 57 to 40.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took to the Senate floor moments before the vote to call for support. “In my effort to get this done, I don't know how I could have been more reasonable,” Reid said. “It's our troops that will pay the price.”