Prior to 1993, homosexuality was banned in the military under Department of Defense (DOD) regulations. The then-existing policy had been in place since the Carter Administration. During his campaign for the presidency, Bill Clinton promised that, if elected, he would "lift the ban." In response, Congress began considering legislation on the issue. Following his election, President Clinton implemented an interim policy seemingly suspending the existing policy until Congress could finish its work. Following a lengthy public consideration of the issue, Congress passed P.L. 103-160 , codified in 10 United States Code Section 654. This language codified the grounds for discharge from the military as follows: (1) the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts; (2) the member states that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual; or (3) the member has married or attempted to marry someone of the same sex. In implementing the law, the Clinton Administration added language in regulations that went beyond the law and prohibited questioning military members and recruits about their sexuality. This policy became known as "Don't ask, Don't tell" or DADT. On January 27, 2010, during his State of the Union speech, President Obama stated his desire to work with Congress "to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." Shortly thereafter, on March 2, 2010, the Secretary of Defense appointed the Honorable Jeh Charles Johnson (General Counsel) and General Carter F. Ham to co-chair a working group to "undertake a comprehensive review of the impacts of repeal, should it occur, of Section 654 of Title 10 of the United States Code." The unidentified group formed to conduct this study became known as the Comprehensive Review Working Group or CRWG. The CRWG report was issued on November 30, 2010, although certain "findings" were leaked to the media before that date. Legislation was introduced ( H.R. 2965 ), modified, and after congressional passage, signed into law by President Obama as P.L. 111-321 on December 20, 2010, setting in motion the process for repealing Section 654, Title 10 United States Code and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that was promulgated as a result of this law. According to P.L. 111-321 , repeal would take effect 60 days after the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that they have "considered the recommendations contained in the CRWG report and the report's proposed plan of action," "the Department of Defense has prepared the necessary policies and regulations to exercise [the repeal of section 654, title 10 USC]," and; the policies and regulations pursuant to such a repeal are "consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces." The then-Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates, released a memorandum calling on DOD military and civilian leaders to deliver a plan for carrying out the repeal by February 4, 2011. This memorandum called for the creation of a Repeal Implementation Team (RIT) to develop plans for the repeal, update policies for publication following the repeal, train and prepare members of the force, and provide bi-weekly progress reports. (It is also noteworthy that the Pentagon would not keep statistics on gay service members.) The certification occurred on July 22, 2011. As a result, Section 654 and the DADT policy were repealed on September 20, 2011, 60 days after certification. According to reports, the Department of Defense decided on a three-tiered approach to implementing the repeal of DADT that focused on training and education of its personnel. Under this plan, tier one focused on those in senior leadership positions having to deal with the overall repeal process; this group includes military lawyers and chaplains. Tier two was for senior leadership who will oversee the education and training of troops in their commands. Finally, tier three was for the rank and file active duty, reserve component, and civilian defense employees. The enactment of P.L. 111-321 and subsequent DOD actions on DADT raise questions, including the following: What is the role of Congress in the oversight of the repeal process? Does DADT repeal apply to state National Guardsmen when not in federal service? What benefits are available to gay service members and their partners/dependents? Does the federal statute prohibiting the recognition of gay marriages create equal treatment issues? How will language in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, particularly the article prohibiting sodomy, be affected? Will a lack of federal language on the topic possibly allow administrative regulations prohibiting certain behaviors to be reinstated? This report will examine these issues. Under the Constitution, Congress has the authority "To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." Congress, via its Members and committees, maintains oversight of the Armed Forces. It is the duty of the President to execute the laws and to draft the means of implementing these laws. In the case of the repeal of Section 654, Congress is removing the statutory language prohibiting open homosexuality and allowing the Administration to implement the rules and regulations, subject to this oversight. (Congress did not add new language to federal statutes.) Prior to the adoption of Section 654 (and the DADT policy), there were no federal statutes banning gay individuals from serving openly in the military. Instead, the ban was contained in various military regulations. Repeal of Section 654 returns to a situation in which there are no federal statutes regarding open service by gays. In this environment, it could theoretically be possible for this or any future Administration to draft regulations that resemble the pre-1993 ban or any number of similar restrictions. Some have suggested that it is necessary for Congress to go beyond repealing Section 654 and put into place statutory language that prevents a return to restrictions on service based on sexuality. Others dismiss the possible return to a gay ban as unlikely, particularly given such a change would be vulnerable to legal challenges, and therefore claim that the need for such legislation is unnecessary. Still others have noted that, lacking any prohibitions in law, it is possible for state governors to establish such rules for state National Guard members. Advocates for repeal of Section 654 suggested that Congress could go further in considering language that would prevent a governor from taking such actions. Concerns have also been expressed that such actions could potentially challenge or usurp a governor's authority when the National Guard is under state control. Congress may also respond to the repeal by exercising its oversight duties. For example, it could hold hearings, as well as propose legislative changes to laws/policies affected by the repeal of Section 654. To date, Congress has taken a number of actions: The House Armed Services Committee included the following proposed language in its version of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act ( H.R. 1540 ): Section 533—Additional Condition on Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell This section would amend the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 ( P.L. 111-321 ) to require the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force to submit to the congressional defense committees their written certification that repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law specified in section 654 of title 10, United States Code, will not degrade the readiness, effectiveness, cohesion, and morale of combat arms units and personnel of their respective armed force that are engaged in combat, deployed to a combat theater, or preparing for deployment to a combat theater. However, the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act did not contain this language. Other steps Members of Congress have taken include the following: During this repeal process, Representative Joe Wilson, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Military Personnel Subcommittee, stated that he planned to hold hearings on the repeal declaring it "'irresponsible' for Congress to repeal the ban on openly gay service without giving the House of Representatives time to hold hearings." To date, no hearings have been scheduled specifically on the topic of the repeal. On January 19, 2011, Representative Duncan Hunter introduced H.R. 337 , a bill that would amend P.L. 111-321 to expand the list of those needed to certify the repeal to include other members of the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS): the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Supporters of H.R. 337 contend that it was important to have all military leaders in agreement and they have criticized relying on the certification of only three individuals who stated their support for repeal before the CRWG's work was underway. Opponents of H.R. 337 , and the earlier attempts to add similar language requiring the consent of the entire JCS viewed it as a "poison pill" given the hesitancy expressed by some JCS members during Senate Armed Services Committee hearings on DADT in December 2010. This bill was referred to the Committee on Armed Services without further action. According to a recent report, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Buck McKeon, "is seeking copies of the written assessments performed by each service about the impact of the policy change on recruiting, retention and readiness, which he believes could provide ammunition for an attempt to block the scheduled Sept. 20 date when the ban would lift once and for all." Again, it appears that this request has been overtaken by events with the repeal.