Washington, D.C. - Today the House of Representatives voted to pass stand-alone legislation repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Rep. David Price (D-NC) was an original cosponsor of the legislation, which was previously passed by the House as a part of its Defense Authorization bill. This afternoon he released the following statement:

"This discriminatory policy has kept dedicated and patriotic young people from serving their country for too long, and I am proud that the House has once again sent a clear signal of its intent to repeal it.

"Time and again, we have seen Congressional Republicans move the goalpost when it comes to repeal. First Republicans wanted to hear from military leadership; Chairman Mullen and Secretary Gates have testified in favor of repeal. Then they wanted to hear from the troops; the Pentagon's own report found that the vast majority do not object. We also know from the Pentagon report that repeal does not pose a significant risk to readiness and could be implemented without disrupting ongoing training and operations. In fact, Secretary Gates has warned that those blocking repeal are 'rolling the dice' on a far more disruptive outcome: the immediate implementation of repeal by court dictate."

"Today's bipartisan passage of 'stand-alone' repeal legislation should put to rest yet another Republican objection: that repeal legislation was passed as a part of the Defense Authorization Bill earlier this year. With this final accommodation, Senate Republicans should end their legislative and rhetorical contortions and join efforts to repeal this discriminatory policy once and for all."

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