Military Readiness Enhancement Act
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The Military Readiness Enhancement Act was a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in several sessions between 2005 and 2009. It would have amended title 10, United States Code to include a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, replacing the policy known as "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT), which banned disclosing one's homosexuality while serving in the Armed Forces.
The bill remained stalled in committee each time it was introduced. In 2010, its backers succeeded in repealing DADT effective September 2011, without establishing a nondiscrimination policy.
Rep. Marty Meehan introduced the legislation in the 109th on March 2, 2005, and 110th Congress on March 28, 2007. Rep. Ellen Tauscher introduced it in the 111th Congress on March 3, 2009. Patrick Murphy took over the sponsorship of the legislation after Tauscher's resignation in June 2009.[1]
The 2005 bill had 122 cosponsors and the 2007 bill had 149 cosponsors. They were both referred to the House Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel but failed to advance. The 2009 bill had 192 cosponsors as of April 22, 2010, and was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.[2] The 192 cosponsors in the House of Representatives included 190 Democrats and two Republicans, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Joseph Cao.
| Congress | Short title | Bill number(s) | Date introduced | Sponsor(s) | # of cosponsors | Latest status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 111th Congress | Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 | S. 3065 | August 5, 2009 | Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) | 33 | Referred the Armed Services Committee |
| H.R. 1283 | March 3, 2009 | Ellen Tauscher (D-CA); Patrick Murphy (D-PA) | 192 | Referred to Subcommittee on Military Personnel | ||
| 110th Congress | Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2007 | H.R. 1246 | March 28, 2007 | Marty Meehan (D-MA) | 149 | |
| 109th Congress | Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005 | H.R. 1059 | March 2, 2005 | 122 |
