the_permalink() and custom query problem

Hi all –
I’m having a weird issue with code rendering out of order. The problem occurs when I am using the_permalink() as below:

echo "<ul>";
while ( $GI_query->have_posts() )
 {
	$GI_query->the_post();
	echo '<li><a class="front-link" href="' . the_permalink() . '">' . get_the_title() . '</li></a>';
}
echo "</ul>";

This renders on screen with the link before the

For example:

<ul>
https://scccstudentleadership.org/wordpress-test/committees/
<li>
<a class="front-link" href="">Committees</a>
</li>
https://scccstudentleadership.org/wordpress-test/events-calendar/
<li>
<a class="front-link" href="">Events Calendar</a>
</li>
</ul>

the site is at https://scccstudentleadership.org/wordpress-test

Thanks for any help,
Dean