Republican Reps. Buck McKeon and Joe
Wilson are calling for a delay in ending “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,”
the policy set to expire on Tuesday that bans gay and bisexual troops
from serving openly, gay weekly the Washington
Blade reported.
McKeon, who chairs the House Armed
Services Committee, and Wilson, who chairs the House Armed Services
Personnel Subcommittee, penned a letter to Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta in which they argued that repeal cannot proceed because they
have yet to receive revised regulations.
“Committee officials have requested,
but not received, copies of the revised regulations and a summary of
all the specific policy changes, especially with regard to benefits,
that will take effect upon repeal,” the lawmakers wrote.
This “leads us to conclude that
decisions on the policies and regulations to implement repeal are not
complete and that your certification and those of the others were
inaccurate.”
Lawmakers approved a plan to repeal the
law in December. Proponents of repeal circumvented the Armed
Services Committee by attaching an amendment to the military's annual
budget on the House floor.
The Pentagon asserted the policy will
end on September 20.
“The repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't
Tell' will occur, in accordance with the law and after a rigorous
certification process, on Sept. 20,” an unnamed Pentagon spokesman
said. “Senior Department of Defense officials have advised
Congress of changes to regulations and policies associated with
repeal. We take that obligation seriously.”
Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), noted that the law only
“requires that the new regulations be prepared – not issued –
before certification.”