Bud Shuster: “I rise in support of the en bloc amendments, but I rise in opposition to the Murphy amendment, which will repeal Don't…”

“I rise in support of the en bloc amendments, but I rise in opposition to the Murphy amendment, which will repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which is the current law for the U.S. military. Our Nation is at war, and after making the continuous sacrifice of fighting two wars over the course of 8 years, the men and women of our military deserve to be heard. This December, the Pentagon's Don't Ask, Don't Tell Working Group will return a survey of over 300,000 of our members of our military concerning that policy. We should listen to the men and women in uniform first before we act in the Congress. This decision should not be based on a campaign promise made to a particular constituent base, but on thoughtful consideration of readiness, morale, and cohesion. We owe that to the men and women who serve us in harm's way. In the committee, we have heard from all four of our service chiefs expressing their concerns on this amendment, and it is unanimous.”