McKeon insists on hearing from the military on ‘don’t ask’

The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee is accusing the Obama administration of putting a political "spin" on the results of a months-long review of the 1993 law banning openly homosexual men and women from serving in the military, saying he wants to hear directly from senior officers on the issue.

During an interview in his House office on Thursday, Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., echoed his GOP counterparts in the Senate, who earlier in the day used the first of two days of hearings on a proposed repeal of the gay ban to criticize the Pentagon's review and urged against rushing to act before the 111th Congress adjourns later this month.

"It's kind of like, 'The commander-in-chief wants it done; we're going to make it happen,' " said McKeon, who is expected to take the gavel of the Armed Services Committee when Republicans assume control of the House next year. "I'm not saying people haven't worked hard, but there's been a whole lot of spin -- leaking the report and making it out as if it's not a big deal [and] everybody's going to be just fine with this."

Seizing on the chief GOP argument made over the last few weeks, McKeon said that the survey of 115,000 military personnel, which is the backbone of the review, neglects to ask the key question of whether the law should be repealed.

"Give me a break. If you really just wanted to start with a clean sheet of paper and find out what the military really wants, would you ask the question, 'Do you want this?' or would you ask the question, 'How do you do this?'" McKeon said. "You get different answers."

McKeon said he has not yet had time to read the full Pentagon report, but he was briefed on it on Tuesday, along with other members of the Armed Services Committee. He reiterated his earlier call for a round of House hearings on the issue and said he specifically wants to hear from the chiefs of the military services and field commanders.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, and the co-chairmen of the nearly 10-month review, Pentagon counsel Jeh Johnson and Army Gen. Carter Ham, testified on Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The service chiefs, some of whom have expressed concerns about repealing the law, are scheduled to appear before the committee Friday.

But the House Armed Services Committee does not plan to hold hearings during the lame-duck -- a decision that riles McKeon.

"I'd like to just slow this process down a bit," he said. "We're in kind of a runaway train with it that everything has to be done in the next week or two."

With the clock ticking down on the lame-duck session, the next two weeks will determine whether the current Congress acts on the issue.

Senate Democrats hope to call up a fiscal 2011 Defense authorization bill that includes a provision that would repeal the law after the White House and Pentagon certify that it would not affect unit cohesion, military readiness or troop morale. The repeal would take effect 60 days after certification, which Gates has emphasized this week does not mean immediately upon the president's signing of the bill into law.

The House already passed identical language in May, but the Defense measure has been stalled for months in the Senate amid concerns about "don't ask, don't tell" and other issues.

Gates has urged for passage of the repeal this year. Failure to do so, he said, will leave the matter to the courts, which could upend an orderly implementation process by instituting an immediate lifting of the ban.

"Given the present circumstances, those that choose not to act legislatively are rolling the dice that this policy will not be abruptly overturned by the courts," Gates told the Senate committee.

Yochi J. Dreazen contributed to this report.