Gillibrand Statement Following Vote On Military Justice Improvement Act

Statement

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement following the vote on the bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act:

"Once again, a majority of the U.S. Senate supported a strongly bipartisan measure to finally hold the military accountable and create a fair, non-biased military justice system. Yet, once again, Senate filibuster rules protected military brass. Still, we will not back down.

"I'm encouraged by the growth of our coalition and am grateful to Senators Daines, Gardner, Kirk, Peters and Thune for their leadership in standing up for our troops. I continue to be inspired by the survivors who have come forward to demand reform. In their honor, we will continue this fight.

"It is unacceptable that an average of 52 sexual assaults occur each day. It is unacceptable that the retaliation rate has remained unchanged, and that the Pentagon cannot point to a single case where a penalty was levied against an individual who retaliated against a survivor who reported. It is unacceptable that three of four servicemembers do not have enough faith in the system to report an assault.

"We will not sit back while this crisis persists, and will continue our work to pass military justice reform."

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