appoint the highest-level officials to carry it out. accordingly, i am naming the department of defense general counsel, jay johnson, and commander ham, to serve as the co-chairs of this effort. simultaneous, with launching this process, i have also directed the department to quickly review the regulations used to implement the current don't ask, don't tell law. and within 45 days, present to me recommended changes to those regulations that within existing law will enforce this policy in a fairer manner. you may recall that i asked the department's general counsel to conduct a preliminary review of this matter last year. based on that preliminary review, we believe that we have a degree of latitude within the existing law to change our internal procedures in a manner that is more appropriate and fair to our men and women in uniform. we will now conduct a final detailed assessment of this proposal before proceeding. mr. chairman, senator mccain,