Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada is set to schedule a vote on the defense authorization bill, which includes "don't ask, don't tell" repeal, next week. It is expected that Republicans will filibuster the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides funding for the Defense Department, and 60 votes would be needed to end debate on the bill and bring it to the Senate floor for a vote. GOP senator John McCain of Arizona renewed his filibuster threat last week. Repeal advocates expressed optimism that they would find the necessary votes to send the legislation to the floor. "We feel fairly confident that we will have the 60 votes to break a filibuster of the National Defense Authorization Act," said a spokesman of the gay veterans group Servicemembers United. "This bill contains important provisions for all troops and important funding provisions for the entire military. It would be hard, and shameless, for lawmakers to hold up this critical bill because of opposition to one or two of its myriad smaller provisions." What's less clear is what might happen if the bill reaches the Senate floor, where amendments might be offered to strike the repeal language or to expand the terms of the certification process beyond the president, Defense secretary, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs to also include the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Either measure would require 51 votes to pass. The spokesman for Servicemembers United added that last weeks court decision in the Log Cabin Republican case, which found "don't ask, don't tell" unconstitutional, could also play a role in the mood on Capitol Hill. "That was another huge nail in the coffin," he said. "It really drove home for people that the writing is on the wall."
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