WASHINGTON IN BRIEF

726 Let Go Under 'Don't Ask'

The number of gay and lesbian service personnel discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy last year was 726 -- slightly more than in 2004 but still 30 to 40 percent lower than the number of forced departures in the years before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to Pentagon figures released yesterday. The Army discharged 386 members, compared with 177 for the Navy, 88 for the Air Force and 75 for the Marine Corps.

The Pentagon did not provide details of how the discharges came about. Advocates for gay service personnel, however, say they have noticed a slight increase in the number of cases in which service members' sexual orientation was disclosed by others.

"We had a client at Fort Bragg, a trained Arab linguist with 82nd [Airborne Division]. He was outed in an anonymous e-mail campaign," said Steve Ralls of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an activist group for gays in the military.

The Government Accountability Office said last year that it has cost nearly $200 million to recruit and train replacements for the 9,488 troops discharged since the policy began in 1994, including more than 750 who held critical jobs, many in military intelligence, and more than 300 as linguists.

VA Chief Voices Concern

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson expressed concern about the speed of his department's response after personal data on 26.5 million military veterans was stolen, exposing them to possible identity theft.

"I am outraged at the loss of this veterans' data and the fact an employee would put it at risk by taking it home in violation of our policies. I am also concerned about the timing of the department's response once the burglary became known," Nicholson said in a statement. The personal information including names, Social Security numbers and birth dates was stolen this month from the Maryland home of a department employee.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said Bush had "full faith and confidence" in Nicholson.

Mine Safety Bill Advances

The Senate voted to require safety upgrades at underground coal mines, after fatal accidents in Kentucky and West Virginia and House members pledged to act soon.

The measure would require mine operators to keep more emergency air supplies underground and to better seal abandoned sections of their mines.

FEMA Pick Hits Tax Snag

Questionable deductions on three years of R. David Paulison's tax returns threw an unexpected hitch into his Senate confirmation to become chief of the nation's disaster response agency.

A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Paulison planned to file three years' worth of amended tax returns as early as yesterday afternoon, and immediately pay any money owed.

-- Staff writer Ann Scott Tyson and news services