Washington, D.C. -  On Thursday, Rep. David Price (D-NC) voted for an amendment to H.R. 5136, the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, to repeal the Department of Defense’s 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which bans gay and lesbian individuals from serving openly in the armed forces. The amendment, which the House approved by a vote of 234-194, was introduced by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), a veteran of the Iraq war.  Following passage of the amendment, Rep. Price released the following statement:

“In recent weeks, the injustice of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has been starkly illustrated by the ordeal of a brave and patriotic UNC ROTC Cadet, Sara Isaacson.  I believe soldiers should be judged on how well they do their jobs, not on their sexual orientation.  It’s time to repeal the outdated Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy so that every American has the opportunity to fight for the country we all love."

Earlier this week, Rep. Price and two other members of congress wrote to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates about the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy’s impact on college students participating in the ROTC program.

The letter (pdf) followed a visit by University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill ROTC cadet Sara Isaacson to the congressman’s office to advocate for a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  As local news accounts have detailed, Ms. Isaacson’s experience after she revealed her sexual orientation to her commander just before her graduation and commissioning ceremony.  Ms. Isaacson was released from her contract and as a result will not be commissioned as an officer.  The Army is now seeking repayment of approximately $80,000—the amount of scholarship money paid to UNC under her ROTC contract.  Rep. Price’s district includes UNC.

The Murphy amendment was approved during House consideration of the Fiscal Year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, an annual measure that sets funding levels and policy priorities for the military.  The amendment stipulates that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would not take effect until a Pentagon working group examining the impact of repeal on military readiness issues its final report, which is due by December 1, 2010. 

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