On the recordDecember 18, 2010
I rise to discuss the vote that will occur in a little more than an hour on the don't ask, don't tell policy. I have some basic thoughts about it, coming from a State where we have contributed probably as many or more soldiers to almost every major conflict we have had over the last 100 years. We are a State that has over 1 million veterans. We have lost soldiers most recently in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, our killed-in-action number was just below 200. At last count, it was about 197. In Afghanistan, it is now up to 61, 62 who have been killed in action. People in Pennsylvania know what war is about, what sacrifice is about, because so many families have contributed to that service and that sacrifice. When it comes to this change in policy we are advocating, I wish to focus on two basic considerations. One is basic integrity and the other is valor.
