Repeal of the law mandating the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy will likely be attached to next year’s Department of  Defense spending authorization bill, the same legislative vehicle that included the original ban in 1993, according to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).  The White House is supportive of this strategy, Frank told the Advocate:

“Military issues are always done as part of the overall authorization bill,”
Frank said, insisting that this has been the strategy for overturning the
policy all along. “’Don’t ask, don’t tell’ was always going to be part of
the military authorization.”

Frank said he has been in direct communication with the White House, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, and other Congressional leaders about the
strategy for ending the 1993 ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Though some moderate Democrats have recently expressed concern about
repealing the policy during a midterm election year, Frank said resolve at
the White House has never wavered. “The Administration is totally committed
to this and has been from the beginning,” he said.