On Friday, April, 1 the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Personnel conducted the first serious hearing on the issue of homosexuals in the military since 1993.  Your CMR was there.

During the hearing, Witnesses Dr. Clifford Stanley, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness, and Vice Admiral William Gortney, Director of the Joint Staff, testified and answered questions about the DoD “Repeal Implementation Plan” and “tiered training” programs that are supposed to build acceptance of a radical LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) law and associated policies for our military.  

Their testimony included many significant statements that require more questions and closer examination by members of the full committee.

We appreciate members of the Personnel Subcommittee for making a strong start in the process of examining what the Pentagon concedes will happen if final repeal occurs.  Once again the witnesses were unable to point to a single benefit for the military as a whole:

• Fox News/AP:  Pentagon defends Lifting Ban on Gays in Military

This Thursday, April 7, there will be a full House Armed Services Committee Hearing to hear more testimony on the Defense Department’s unrealistic but determined plans to accommodate LGBT personnel in all branches and communities of the armed forces.

The Personnel Subcommittee did a good job getting onto the record flawed answers to many of the questions we asked to be submitted to the Pentagon.

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Full House Armed Services Committee Hearing This Thursday

In last December’s lame-duck session, the 111^th Congress rushed to repeal the 1993  law before the House Armed Services Committee had a single hearing on the Defense Department’s plans to replace the current law with a new LGBT Law and related policies for the military.  

The legislation stipulates that full repeal may occur 60 days after the president, Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff “certify” that repeal will be “consistent” with military recruiting, retention, and readiness. Note that it is not necessary to show any benefits for the military from repeal. 

Until this trigger is pulled on the military, the 1993 law remains on the books.

Our goal is to convince members of Congress that they must intervene with tough questions and an appropriate statement to the Administration summarized in three words: “Not so fast!”  This is the only way to slow and possibly stop the administration’s intent to “certify” their victory in June, “LGBT Equality Month.” 

Here are the details and suggestions for what you can do to defend our military at this critical time:

• House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) will conduct a hearing on Thursday, April 7, at 1:00 PM in Room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building.
• Witnesses will be General George W. Casey, Jr., USA Chief of Staff, U. S. Army, Admiral Gary Roughead, USN, Chief of Naval Operations, U. S. Navy, General James F. Amos, USMC, Commandant, ZSSUSU. S. Marine Corps, and General Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Chief of Staff, U. S. Air Force
• This is a list of the full House Armed Services Committee.   Photos and website links are below. 
  

ACTION ITEMS:

A successful hearing this week is critical to slow this process down.  You can help in the following ways:

• Call or write to HASC Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, and Subcommittee Chairman Joe Wilson, thanking them for having hearings and encouraging them to have more sessions to closely examine the answers received.  (HASC Office, 202/225-4151, FAX 202/225-9077)

• Call or write to individual members of the Armed Services Committee, encouraging them to attend the hearing on Thursday, April 7, at 1:00 PM.  Remind them that the administration should not be allowed to impose LGBT law on our military without sufficient time for responsible oversight in the new 112^th Congress.
  

• Pass this message on to friends, family, and fellow organization members to encourage HASC members to respectfully ask the witnesses about the Defense Department’s deeply flawed and unrealistic “Implementation Plans.”  Here are a few, just for starters:

Would LGBT Law and Policies Benefit or Harm Our Military?                                                                                 

1. Plan to visit HASC offices before and after the hearing, and be there to lend support on Thursday for the hearing at 1:00 PM, 2118 Rayburn. 

House Armed Services Committee (HASC)

Republican Members

Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, Chairman, California Visit Site

Roscoe G. Bartlett, Maryland Visit Site 

Mac Thornberry, Vice Chairman, Texas Visit Site

Walter B. Jones, North Carolina Visit Site

W. Todd Akin, Missouri Visit Site
J. Randy Forbes, Virginia Visit Site
Jeff Miller, Florida Visit Site
Joe Wilson, South Carolina Visit Site  ** Chairman, Personnel Subcommittee
Frank A. LoBiondo, New Jersey Visit Site
Michael Turner, Ohio Visit Site
John Kline, Minnesota Visit Site
Mike Rogers, Alabama Visit Site
Trent Franks, Arizona Visit Site
Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania Visit Site
K. Michael Conaway, Texas Visit Site
Doug Lamborn, Colorado Visit Site
Rob Wittman, Virginia Visit Site
Duncan Hunter, California Visit Site
John C. Fleming, Louisiana Visit Site
Mike Coffman, Colorado Visit Site *
Thomas J. Rooney, Florida Visit Site *
Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania Visit Site
Scott Rigell, Virginia Visit Site
Chris Gibson, New York Visit Site

Vicky Hartzler, Missouri Visit Site *
Joe Heck, Nevada Visit Site *
Bobby Schilling, Illinois Visit Site
Jon Runyan , New Jersey Visit Site
Austin Scott , Georgia Visit Site *
Tim Griffin , Arkansas Visit Site
Steve Palazzo , Mississippi Visit Site
Allen West , Florida Visit Site *
Martha Roby , Alabama Visit Site
Mo Brooks , Alabama Visit Site
Todd Young , Indiana Visit Site
(*) Member, Personnel Subcommittee

Democratic Members

Adam Smith, Ranking Member, Washington Visit Site

Silvestre Reyes, Texas Visit Site

Loretta Sanchez, California Visit Site

Mike McIntyre, North Carolina Visit Site

Robert A. Brady, Pennsylvania Visit Site

Rob Andrews, New Jersey Visit Site

Susan A. Davis, California Visit Site

James R. Langevin, Rhode Island Visit Site

Rick Larsen, Washington Visit Site

Jim Cooper, Tennessee Visit Site

Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Guam Visit Site

Joe Courtney, Connecticut Visit Site

David Loebsack, Iowa Visit Site

Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Visit Site

Niki Tsongas, Massachusetts Visit Site

Chellie Pingree, Maine Visit Site

Larry Kissell, North Carolina Visit Site

Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Visit Site

William L. Owens, New York Visit Site

John Garamendi, California Visit Site

Mark Critz, Pennsylvania Visit Site

Tim Ryan , Ohio Visit Site

C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger , Maryland Visit Site

Hank Johnson, Georgia Visit Site

Kathy Castor , Florida Visit Site

Betty Sutton , Ohio Visit Site

Colleen Hanabusa , Hawaii Visit Site

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The Center for Military Readiness is an independent, non-partisan 501(c)(3) public policy organization that specializes in military social issues.   More information is available at www.cmrlink.org.