[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2665]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA

  (Mr. RUIZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 642, a bill 
that would help the men and women in our armed services who are victims 
of sexual assault get access to the care that they need.
  Sexual assault is not acceptable anywhere in our society. It is not 
something many people like to talk about, but it is a very real 
problem. According to the Department of Defense, 20,000 servicemembers 
said they had experienced at least one incident of unwanted sexual 
contact in 2014.
  In my time as an emergency medicine physician, I have seen the deep, 
longstanding, and brutal psychological trauma that results from sexual 
assault, and I know how critical it is that victims receive the 
treatment they need and perpetrators are brought to justice.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill takes much-needed steps to ensure that 
treatment options are more accessible for our veterans who were victims 
of sexual assault by helping to pay for travel expenses for those who 
need to seek care outside of the VA system.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a medical need and a moral imperative. I urge 
all my colleagues to support H.R. 642 and ensure servicemembers who are 
victims of sexual trauma receive the care they need.

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