$26 Million in Savings

According to Congress Daily, “As part of a government-wide effort to control spending and trim the federal deficit, the military services are poring over their books, attempting to cut budgets on some big-ticket procurement items to help the department find about $15 billion in cuts for fiscal 2007, analysts and former department officials said.”

We’ve got an idea. Congress can start by saving $26 million per year, simply by passing HR 1059, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act.

According to the Government Accounting Office (GAO), discharging service members under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” costs the military an average of $26 million per year. Now that may seem to some as a drop in the bucket when you’re trying to cut $15 billion in spending. But saving $26 million a year by letting qualified Americans who also happen to be gay serve in the military without the obstacles presented by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is surely a step in the right direction toward both controlling spending and trimming the deficit.

Individual members of Congress tend to shy away from spending cuts that negatively impact their constituents. But “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is different. Nobody benefits from “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – not the military, not individual constituents, and certainly not our national security.

For fiscal conservatives interested in reducing the deficit and controlling spending, repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should be a no brainer.

-Ray A. Quintero