Dems committed to passing "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" and "Dream Act" During Lame Duck Session

Great News! Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said a critical Defense Department authorization measure that contains a repeal of the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy banning openly gay Americans from serving in the military and the DREAM Act will be squeezed into a short lame-duck Senate session.

The majority leader said he spoke earlier Wednesday with Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), and that Levin is "anxious" to get the proposal to a Senate vote when members reconvene on Nov. 15.

"The problem we have with the defense authorization bill is that it takes a while to get done," Reid said. "If we can get some agreement from the Republicans that we can move the bill without a lot of extraneous amendments, I think it’s something we could work out. That would be my goal."

Reid also told Univision he would put forward a vote on the DREAM Act in the lame-duck session. Reid’s answer to Univision's Ramos on whether he will bring up the DREAM Act was an “unequivocal yes.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Congress should act quickly, before new members take their seats, to repeal the military's ban on gays serving openly in the military. Additionally, Undocumented students are organizing around the country to get the Dream Act passed.