[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 165 (Tuesday, November 19, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8151-S8153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXTENSION OF MORNING BUSINESS
Ms. MIKULSKI. We have two more speakers, Senators from Massachusetts
and Washington State. I ask unanimous consent morning business be
extended for these two for approximately 10 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I yield to the Senator from Washington State and the
Senator from Massachusetts.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Maryland and the
Senator from Maine for helping to bring so many of us to the floor
today to talk about an issue that cuts across partisan lines and has
plagued our Nation's military and has gone unaddressed for far too
long. Military sexual assault is an epidemic and it has rightly been
identified as such by the Pentagon. It is absolutely unconscionable
that a fellow servicemember, the person you rely on to have your back
and to be there for you, would commit such a terrible crime. It is
simply appalling that they could commit such a personal violation of
their brother or sister in uniform, but what is worse and what has made
change an absolute necessity is the prevalence of these crimes. Recent
estimates tell us that 26,000 servicemembers are sexually assaulted
each year and just over 3,000 of those assaults are reported. According
to the Department of Veterans Affairs, about one in five female
veterans treated by VA has suffered from military sexual assault; one
in five. That is certainly not the act of a comrade. It is not in
keeping with the ethos of any of the services, and it can no longer be
tolerated. That is why the women of the Senate have been united in
calling for action.
There has been made much of the fact that there are now 20 women in
the Senate, a historic number that I think we all agree can still grow.
But it is important to remember that the number alone should not be
what is historic. Instead, it is what we do with our newfound strength
to address the issues that are impacting women across the country.
With this bill, the first Defense authorization of this Congress, we
are doing exactly that. We are taking historic action to help
servicemembers access the resources they need to seek justice without
fear. One way this bill will do just that, help protect our
servicemembers and assist victims and punish criminals, is through the
inclusion of a bill I introduced across party lines with Senator
Ayotte. Our bill, which is included in the base bill, creates a new
category of legal advocates called special victims' counsels. They
would be responsible for advocating on behalf of the interests of the
victim. These special victims' counsels would advise the victim on the
range of legal issues they may face.
For example, when a young private first class is intimidated into not
reporting a sexual assault by threatening her with unrelated legal
charges such as underage drinking, this new legal advocate would be
there to protect her and tell her the truth. Since January, the Air
Force has provided these advocates to over 500 victims through an
innovative new pilot program. Ten months later, the results are
speaking for themselves. Ninety-two percent of victims are extremely
satisfied with the advice and support their SVC lent them through the
military judicial process, 98 percent would recommend other victims
request these advocates, and 93 percent believed these advocates
effectively fought on their behalf.
In describing their experience with an advocate, one victim shared
that:
Going through this was the hardest thing I ever had to do
in my life. Having a Special Victim Counsel helped
tremendously. . . . No words could describe how much I
appreciate having one of these advocates.
Through our bipartisan effort, the Defense authorization bill will
also enhance the responsibility and authority of DOD's sexual assault
prevention and response office, known as the SAPRO. This improvement
will help provide better oversight of efforts to combat military sexual
assault across the Armed Forces. SAPRO would also be required to
regularly track and report on a range of MSA statistics, including
assault rates and the number of cases brought to trial, and compliance
within each of the individual services.
Some of the stat collection is already being done so this requirement
is not going to be too burdensome, but it will give the office
authority to track and report to us on the extent of the problem.
I believe the great strength of our military is in the character and
dedication of our men and women who wear that uniform. It is the
courage of these Americans who volunteer to serve our country that are
the Pentagon's greatest asset. I know it is said a lot but take a
moment to think about that. Our servicemembers volunteered to face
danger, put their lives on the line, and protect our country and all
its people. When we think of those dangers, we think of IEDs and
battles with insurgents.
[[Page S8152]]
We should not have to focus on the threats they encounter from their
own fellow servicemembers, and we should never allow for a culture in
which the fear of reporting a crime allows a problem such as this to
fester year after year. These are dangers that can never be accepted
and none of our courageous servicemembers should ever have to face
them.
Earlier this year I asked Navy Secretary Ray Mabus about the sexual
assault epidemic, and I was glad he told me that ``concern'' was not a
strong enough word to describe how he feels about this problem. He said
he is angry about it. I know many of us in the Senate are angry as
well, particularly our female colleagues who have dedicated so much
time to this issue and share this feeling and want to put an end to
this epidemic.
I am hopeful we can work quickly to do right by our Nation's heroes.
When our best and brightest put on a uniform and join the U.S. Armed
Forces, they do so with the understanding that they will sacrifice much
in the name of defending our country and its people. But that sacrifice
should never have to come in the form of abuse from their fellow
servicemembers.
I am proud the women in this Senate have taken this issue head on,
and what should never be lost in the effort to enact the many changes
that have been proposed is that for too long this was an issue that was
simply swept under the rug. That is no longer the case thanks to
bipartisan cooperation, the work of thousands of dedicated advocates,
and the voices of countless victims who have bravely spoken.
We are poised to make a difference on an issue that women everywhere
have brought out of the shadows, and I am proud of the women who have
worked so hard on this issue.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise to express my strong support for
efforts to stamp out sexual assault in our military, and I wish to
begin by thanking the Senator from Maryland and the Senator from Maine
for their extraordinary leadership in bringing us here to speak on this
issue.
For over 20 years our military has said it has a zero tolerance
policy toward sexual violence. Government agencies have put out 20
reports examining the problem and suggesting potential solutions. Yet,
shamefully, incidents of sexual assault involving our military
personnel continue at staggering rates.
Data from the Department of Defense indicates that thousands of men
and women serving in the military are subject to these horrific
experiences every year. More than 20 percent of women serving in the
military have reported unwanted sexual contact at some point during the
course of their military service.
Perhaps most shameful, about half of all female victims in a 2012 DOD
survey indicated they did not report these crimes because they believed
such reports would simply be ignored.
This is an outrageous situation. We have called on the military over
and over to solve this problem, and they have failed. Simply once again
calling on the military to reform will be an exercise in futility.
Worse, it will be a breach of trust with the men and women who are
future victims of sexual predators lurking in the military.
These are important steps forward that we take today. There are a
number of extremely strong provisions to address sexual assault
included in this year's National Defense Authorization Act which will
move us in the right direction. These provisions are designed to crack
down on sexual assaults, to better protect and advocate for victims,
and to change the climate within our military to one that ends this
despicable conduct.
The bill includes provisions to promote the prosecution of these
cases by eliminating the statute of limitations on certain sexual
offense cases and by limiting the ability of commanding officers to
modify court-martial findings in sexual offense cases.
The bill requires the provision of a special victims' counsel to
provide legal support for servicemembers who are victims of sexual
violence at the hands of other members of the military and take steps
to limit the potential for victims to be mistreated by defense counsel.
There are other important steps forward in this bill. As the Senate
debates the Defense bill, we will consider additional provisions to
prosecute and eliminate sexual assault. I support those efforts as
well.
The issue of sexual violence within our Armed Forces is very personal
to me. All three of my brothers served in the military. My oldest
brother was career military and flew 288 combat missions in Vietnam. I
know the unbelievable sacrifices our military men and women make for
this country and the sacrifices their families make to support them.
Yet, in spite of those sacrifices, we as a nation have consistently
refused to take sufficient steps to ensure that our military men and
women are protected from sexual violence on the job. Tolerance for
sexual assaults demeans the sacrifices that millions of brave men and
women have stepped forward to make on our behalf. We owe it to our
servicemembers, and to their families, to change the culture in our
military that remains far too tolerant of this abuse. We owe it to our
servicemembers, and to their families, to do everything in our power to
stamp out these incidents.
No matter the outcome of this week's amendment votes, this year's
Defense Authorization Act will make significant strides toward finally
making the military's zero tolerance policy a reality.
I am proud to support these efforts, and I promise that so long as
these crimes continue to occur, so long as victims are fearful to come
forward, so long as justice is denied to victims, we will be right back
here next year and the year after that and the year after that, doing
everything we can to end sexual assault in the military.
The brave men and women serving in our Armed Forces have no intention
of giving up on us, and we have no intention of giving up on them.
I yield my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, with the outgoing statement by the
Senator from Massachusetts, we have now concluded the time that the
women of the Senate have taken, on a bipartisan basis, to speak out
against sexual assault in the military and to speak for the 30 reforms
we have all agreed upon, on a bipartisan basis, that will enable
prosecutorial reform, help to the victims, guarantee that there is
fairness with the process, and make sure that if a victim comes
forward, that victim will not be retaliated against or ignored, and for
anyone who is accused, that person will get a fair process.
I am very proud of the way the seven women on the Armed Services
Committee took the lead on this issue and were then joined not only by
the rest of us but also social workers, advocates, former Attorneys
General. We could not have done it without the very good men on the
committee, particularly the chairmanship of Senator Levin and the help
of Senator Inhofe.
I note the Senator from Rhode Island Mr. Reed is on the floor. We
want to thank Senator Reed for his strong advocacy and advancement for
women in the military and also these important reforms.
I would also like to add, as the dean of the women, that what we did
this morning was pretty historical. We have 10 women from the Senate
across the aisle speaking out on 30 reforms that were agreed to in the
underlying bill. This is what the American people wanted--Members of
the Senate working together with the chairman of the committee,
listening to victims, listening to experts, and listening to the
military.
Do you know what was disappointing. There was only one person in the
press gallery. If we had been in conflict--and there will be
disagreements later on where there are differences in some policies,
and that is OK with me. But we don't make press when we have actually
worked together, and worked with such incredible diligence and
expertise among ourselves, to solve these egregious and historically
intransigent problems.
I say to the press, you know you like conflict, you know you like
controversy, and you particularly want to see it among the women. We
have a precedent where we have disagreed before on goals. When I led
the fight with Lilly Ledbetter, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison took me on
with nine
[[Page S8153]]
amendments. We had a good debate and a good bill at the end of it.
Senator Murkowski, from the State of Alaska, has also disagreed with
me on what should be the best approach on preventive health. We had
debates without personal conflict, and we then came up with some good
ideas.
I say today, when I listen to our colleagues on the other side of the
aisle--who again have great backgrounds--this is pretty historic.
If you are watching on C-SPAN, you saw history being made. There were
10 of us--and there will be more later today--who actually agreed. We
are trying to govern the way we were elected to govern. I am proud with
what we are going to do with the reforms that are involved. I am proud
of the way we have gone about it, and if we disagree on some matters
here and there, that is what debate, intellectual rigor, and civility
will be all about.
I will conclude this debate for now. Other women will be coming
throughout the day to speak, and we know we will be debating some other
important policies as well.
I yield the floor.
____________________