Senate to Decide on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

It's now up to the Senate to decide whether the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy gets repealed this year following yesterday's vote by the House of Representatives.

The House voted 250 to 175 to repeal DADT with 15 Republicans supporting an end to the policy and 15 Democrats voting to uphold it.

President Obama praised the vote, saying that ending DADT is "not only the right thing to do, it will also give our military the clarity and certainty it deserves."

"We must ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally by their country," he added.

The DADT policy has led to the dismissal of some 13,500 servicemen since its establishment in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton.

A similar repeal was passed in May by the House as a part of a larger defense bill, but the measure was stopped in the Senate last week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted on Tuesday that Senate action on DADT is "long overdue."

Momentum for the bill to clear the Senate is now mounting as Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, and Scott Brown have publicly stated their support for the repeal.

"Senator Brown accepts the Pentagon's recommendation to repeal the policy after proper preparations have been completed. If and when a clean repeal bill comes up for a vote, he will support it," a spokesperson for Brown told ABC News.

A vote from the Senate is expected next week.

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