Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I think Senator McCain asked I be recognized for 5 minutes. If that is correct, I would like to proceed.

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct.

Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, it is a week before Christmas. I don't know where we will be next week. All I can say is, the Senate is taking up some very important matters--the don't ask, don't tell repeal. The Marine Corps Commandant said he believes changing this policy this way would cause distraction among the Marine Corps to the point that he is worried about increased casualties. Let's hope he is wrong. But you have to ask yourself, is he crazy to say that and is he the kind of man who would make such a chilling statement without having thought about it?

My advice to my colleagues is that the Marine Corps Commandant is a serious man who is telling this body and this Nation that repeal, as being envisioned today, could compromise focus on the battlefield, and we are in two wars.

The review from the military is positive in one area, negative in the other. The Army, the Air Force, particularly the Marine Corps have cautioned us not to do this now this way. Other people have said now is the time. I can only tell you that those in close combat units have the most concern about repealing this policy.

Some will say this is a civil rights issue of our time, the day has come, we need to move forward as a nation. The Marine Corps does not have that view. They have a different view, that this is about effectiveness on the battlefield at a time of war, not about civil rights.

It is up to the Members of the body to determine who is right and who is wrong; to be cautious or to boldly go forward. But to those Senators who will take the floor today and announce this as a major advancement of civil rights in America, please let it be said that you are doing it in a fashion that those who have a different view cannot offer one amendment. We are doing this in a way that the Senate, those of us who want to maybe speak for the Marine Corps and have some amendments and ideas that may make this less distracting, have zero ability to offer an amendment on a policy change that the Commandants of the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and the Army say is problematic.

To those who are pushing this process, it is not appreciated. It is not appreciated by your fellow Senators, and I don't think it is going to be appreciated by the men and women who are going to have to live under this kind of change.

Does that matter? Apparently not. That says a lot about the Senate. That says a lot about modern politics.

To the DREAM Act, I have been involved in comprehensive immigration reform for many years. Senator Durbin and I have talked about how to make the DREAM Act part of comprehensive immigration reform. To those who have come to my office, you are always welcome to come, but you are wasting your time. We are not going to pass the DREAM Act or any other legalization program until we secure our borders. It will never be done stand-alone. It has to be part of comprehensive immigration reform.

There is a war raging in Mexico that is compromising our national security. I would argue that the best thing for the Senate to do, the House to do, the administration to do, is work together to secure our borders before we do anything else.

To those who are bringing up this bill today, I know why you are doing it. You are not doing it to advance the issue. You are doing it to advance your situation politically. It is not appreciated. You are making it harder. You care more about politics in the last 2 weeks than you care about governing the country. This will not help America do the things America does. It is not appreciated.

I yield the floor.

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