[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3981-3982]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT

  Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague Senator McCaskill, as 
well as Senator Fischer. The Senate voted 97-0--unanimously--to support 
the Victims Protection Act. This act builds on important work that was 
done in the Defense authorization bill to ensure that victims of sexual 
assault in the military will be treated with dignity and respect; that 
there will be full accountability for commanders to ensure the climate 
within their unit is one of zero tolerance toward sexual assaults; and 
that when a victim comes forward, that victim--male or female--is 
supported within this system.
  The Victims Protection Act, passed today by a vote of 97-0--and few 
things in the Senate pass with a 97-0 vote--will ensure there is 
another level of review when a commander disagrees with the 
recommendation of a prosecutor to prosecute a sexual assault case. It 
will then go up to the civilian secretary for another level of review.
  The bill also ensures commanders are judged in their evaluations on 
the climate within their unit for addressing sexual assault and how 
they handle these types of cases.
  It also eliminates the so-called good soldier defense. Because even 
if you have been a good soldier, if you have committed sexual assault, 
you need to be held accountable for your actions. So this bill will 
ensure people who are perpetrators are held accountable for their 
actions.
  The bill also allows important input from the victims so they can 
have a say as to whether they believe a case should be brought in a 
military or a civilian system for prosecution.
  This act adds on the important work we have done together in the 
Defense authorization bill but it is not the end. We will continue in 
the Armed Services Committee to make sure the reforms that have been 
passed are implemented, that commanders are held accountable for a 
climate of zero tolerance within their units, and that victims of 
sexual assault are treated with dignity and respect and know they will 
be supported if they come forward to report.
  So I thank the Chair, and I again thank Senator McCaskill for her 
leadership on this bill. So few things pass in this body unanimously, 
but this shows the bipartisan commitment we have to stopping this 
scourge of sexual assault in the military.
  I yield the floor.

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