White House SAP Issued on Defense Bill
The White House has issued a Statement of Administration Policy regarding the consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act.
In relevant part, it notes:
Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces: The Administration supports section 591 as it would allow for completion of the Comprehensive Review, enable the Department of Defense to assess the results of the review, and ensure that the implementation of the repeal is consistent with the standards of military readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention. Such an approach recognizes the critical need to allow our military and their families the full opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process through a thorough understanding of their concerns, insights and suggestions.
The SAP says the administration “supports” the DADT language. In another part of the SAP, the administration “strongly supports P.L. 111-195, the recently enacted comprehensive Iran sanctions legislation.” Accordingly, stronger language could have, theoretically, been used. It should be noted, though, that the “strongly supports” mention references currently existing law and that no portion of the SAP “strongly supports” any of the proposed provisions of the NDAA.*
Read the full SAP here: SAP on S. 3454.pdf
* = This portion is updated to reflect further analysis of the SAP.
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