Next week’s House debate on the 2012 defense budget could include a vote on landmark legislation that would lift the last barriers to women serving in combat jobs in the U.S. military.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, has prepared an amendment repealing the policy that prevents women from serving in front-line combat units in the Army and Marine Corps.

The House is scheduled to take up HR 1540, the 2012 defense authorization bill, next week with plans to pass the $689 billion policy bill by Memorial Day.

Sanchez’s amendment would implement a recommendation made earlier this year by the Military Leadership Diversity Committee, a group of current and retired officers, noncommissioned officers and civilians, which determined that combat exclusion laws hurt advancement opportunities for women.