The Hill News

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Wednesday she favors repealing the "Don't ask, don't tell" law, but says her vote comes with conditions.

The Alaska senator said that she will only vote to break a filibuster of a key defense spending bill with the repeal attached if "the majority allows for an open and fair amendment process."

{mosads}"This is a weighty, policy-laden bill that normally takes several weeks to debate and amend," she said in a statement. "If the majority attempts to push it through allowing little or no debate or votes on amendments, I will be inclined to oppose those efforts."

Murkowski's announcement comes as the Senate is expected to take a cloture vote Wednesday night on the defense bill. .

Several Republicans indicated that they would support scrapping the ban, but that they wanted to see an open debate process on the defense authorization bill, including the ability to offer a series of amendments.

Murkowski joins Susan Collins (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.) among GOP senators who support repeal. Her decision gives repeal advocates certainty that they would have the 60 votes necessary to make repeal happen.

Proponents of repeal also received a boost Wednesday morning when centrist Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor (Ark.) announced he wants to get rid of the policy.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) told CNN's John King Wednesday that he will vote to break a fili! buster on the defense bill. But he said he is still undecided ! whether or not he will support a final vote on repeal.

"Well, I voted to proceed to the bill the last time it came up, a few months ago. I'll vote to proceed again," he said.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has not yet made her position public, but in September, she voted against debate on the defense authorization bill. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has yet to reveal his stance on repeal. His predecessor, the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D), backed repeal.

With the three Republicans announcing support of repeal, Democrats could afford to have two senators defect on the vote and still have the 60 votes necessary. The caveat remains, however, whether the Republicans think the process offered by Reid on the debate of the defense authorization bill is acceptable to them.

Murkowski said that "America is the loser when it denies those who are willing to make the great sacrifices demanded of our men and women in uniform the opportunity do so on gro! unds of sexual orientation."

Roxana Tiron contributed to this post. 

-- This post was updated at 4:11 p.m.