[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17421-17423]
[From the U.S. 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

[[Page 17422]]

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.
  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

[[Page 17423]]

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 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.

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