Armed Services panels prepare for Defense authorization markups

The House and Senate Armed Services committees will continue work behind the scenes this week in preparation for markups scheduled this month on the fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill.

The annual round of Armed Services committee hearings on the Pentagon's budget request are nearly complete, although a few more are scheduled before the markups -- including a Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee hearing Thursday on Navy shipbuilding programs.

The House committee plans to hold its subcommittee markups of the authorization measure May 12 and 13, leading to a marathon markup of the massive bill scheduled for May 19.

House floor debate on the measure, which sets Pentagon policy and prescribes spending levels, is expected during the week of May 24 and should wrap up before the Memorial Day recess, according to the committee.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., advising against using the authorization bill as a vehicle to legislate on the 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" law that bars admitted homosexuals from serving in the military. Skelton wrote Gates last week, asking how he believes Congress should deal with the issue as the Pentagon conducts a yearlong review of how best to implement a repeal of the law.

"I believe in the strongest possible terms that the department must, prior to any legislative action, be allowed the opportunity to conduct a thorough, objective, and systematic assessment of the impact of such a policy change; develop an attentive comprehensive implementation plan, and provide the president and Congress with the results of this effort in order to ensure that this step is taken in the most informed and effective manner," Gates wrote.

Legislating on the issue before the review is complete "sends a very damaging message to our men and women in uniform that in essence their views, concerns, and perspectives do not matter on an issue with such direct impact and consequence for them and their families," he added.

The Senate Armed Services Committee announced in April it plans to mark up its version of the bill during a series of closed-door meetings leading up to the recess.

Subcommittee markups will begin May 25 and continue into May 26. The full committee markup will start May 26, in the hopes of wrapping up the bill by May 27.

The committee has kept Friday, May 28, open in the event the markup of the bill takes longer than expected.