Bid to Limit Women In Combat WithdrawnBy Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 26, 2005; Page A01House Republicans retreated yesterday from a measure that would have restricted women's roles in the military in an effort to keep them out of combat.
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At issue was a 1994 Pentagon policy that bars women from serving in direct ground combat units below the brigade level. Over the years, the Army has expanded the range of positions women are allowed to fill, placing them closer and closer to units whose central mission is combat. Some House Republicans have come to believe that the military is straying from its own stated policy and sought to rein it in by rolling back the places where women can serve.But their efforts fizzled after top Army generals and other critics said the change would send the wrong message to women serving under fire in Iraq. Yesterday, as the House prepared to pass the annual defense authorization bill, lawmakers on both sides of the issue reached agreement on language essentially maintaining the status quo. The bill was approved 390 to 39.
The chief advocate of restricting women's roles, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), scaled back his own plan so that it simply would extend the time required for the Pentagon to notify Congress -- from 30 days to 60 days in session -- before it opened or closed positions to women.
In a statement, Hunter said the new language preserves his aim "to inject Congress into any policy changes" the Pentagon may propose on assigning women to "units such as infantry, armor and artillery."
"The women-in-the-military issue is past," said Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.), ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, who also fought the proposal.
Opposition from Pentagon and Army leaders was intense. Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey said last week that it was "unnecessary" and could cause "confusion on the part of commanders and soldiers."
Rumsfeld made his disagreement clear in a Capitol Hill luncheon with Republicans from the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, lawmakers said. "He said he loves Duncan Hunter but on this one he was wrong and it should be taken out of the bill," Wilson said. Later Tuesday, Rumsfeld met with Hunter and they discussed "some language they could both agree to," said Hunter spokesman Joshua Holly.