National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I want to, first of all, thank the chairman of the Armed Services Committee and the ranking member, Senator Levin and Senator Inhofe, for the leadership they have provided to this body and to our Nation in fashioning a bill, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, that truly serves our national security and preserves and enhances our national defense.

I want to thank my colleague Senator McCaskill for the leadership she has provided, along with others, such as Senator Reed and Senator Gillibrand, all who have focused on the issues that are raised by the Military Justice Improvement Act--the need to reform and strengthen our system of prosecuting and providing justice to the survivors of sexual assault.

I have joined with Senator Gillibrand in supporting the Military Justice Improvement Act because I think it embodies the kind of major reform that is necessary to provide enhanced confidence and trust in this system of military justice--major change that is needed to drive out the scourge of military sexual assault from our Armed Forces and provide the men and women of our military--the strongest and best military in the world now and in the history of the United States--with a system of military justice that matches their excellence.

The legislation before us, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, provides much-needed equipment and training needed by our warfighters. It keeps us dominant across the globe and all of the domains that are necessary for our national defense. It authorizes two new attack submarines for the coming fiscal year, and it keeps us on track for developing the next generation of ballistic missile submarines. These weapon systems, these weapon platforms, and all that is contained in this act, are vitally important for the defense of our Nation. The debate about the Military Justice Improvement Act should in no way distract us from that mission to maintain and enhance the defense of the United States.

This bill enables the Air Force to move forward with a new combat rescue helicopter that will take injured airmen and others to safety. In June I wrote with five of my colleagues to Gen. Mark Welsh, the Air Force Chief of Staff, to support the Air Force in its efforts to replace the current fleet of HH-60G Pave Hawks with helicopters that can carry more and go further, all the while keeping the fuel efficiency and value that the H-60 aircraft provides. This legislation keeps our progress underway in the development and fielding of the Joint Strike Fighter that will assure that our Air Force, Navy, and Marines are ready to respond.

This bill has so many critical and valuable elements that should be at the forefront of this debate and evoke appreciation for Senator Levin and Senator Inhofe and the work done by my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee. So I am proud to support this bill. At the same time, Congress has a responsibility to transform the time-worn slogan of ``zero tolerance for military sexual assault'' into a real plan and strategy that will achieve that goal.

For years and years the military has promised zero tolerance toward sexual assault. Yet the actual achievement has fallen short. That is why reporting has been so low and why the crime of military sexual assault is not only underreported but underprosecuted.

The goal of the Military Justice Improvement Act is to improve reporting because without reporting there cannot be investigating and there cannot be prosecution, which means there can be no punishment and no prevention and protection.

Those are the goals of this major reform: better reporting and enhanced prosecution to deter this horrific crime, and to make sure that victims are better protected and the crime itself prevented.

This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to afford rights to victims of crimes prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, such as protections from unreasonable delay and the right to be heard. This bill gives those protections even without the Military Justice Improvement Act. It also obligates the Secretary of Defense to ensure these rights are enforceable and affords every victim a special victim's counsel--again, measures on which there is consensus provided in the bill right now.

I am pleased that in response to my request to the defense appropriations committee, when this provision is authorized in this legislation, there will be $25 million appropriated to stand up this program systemwide and defensewide.

So the legislation before us has many good things even without the Military Justice Improvement Act. I am proud of the reforms that are accomplished in this bill on which we agree. Where we disagree is on the proposal to take prosecutorial decisions out of the chain of command. That is a narrower change that many people appreciate because the rest of the system, which is required for the present command and control authority, would be essentially maintained. What is taken out of the chain of command is simply the prosecutorial decision so that an experienced, trained, objective professional can make those decisions.

I really believe this measure, if adopted, as I hope it will be, will lead the military at some point--those commanders who may resist it now--to actually thank the Senate and the Congress for taking these decisions out of their hands so that they can focus on the incredible challenges of military readiness and preparedness, so they can do what they are trained to do, which is to train their men and women and maintain and enhance their readiness so that they can do professionally what is their prime mission, which is to fight wars and defend our Nation.

These decisions about prosecuting sexual assault cases can be better made by trained, experienced prosecutors who have the expertise in their field that our military commanders have in their field. I think it will serve the entire interests of our military to make sure that these decisions are made by those military professionals in JAG offices, just as they are trained in other areas of expertise that require that kind of training.

I am listening to the voices of the victims as to what will enhance their reporting and eliminate their fear of reprisal and retaliation. On Monday I was joined by four survivors of military sexual assault to discuss the need for reforming military justice. I wish to express my appreciation for Army SST Sandra Lee, Army SGT Cheryl E. Berg, Air Force SSgt Pattie Dumin, and Marine Corps Cpl Maureen Friedly. Each demonstrated that day that their shared experiences of military justice warrant the reforms contained in the Military Justice Improvement Act.

I would like to share just one--Marine Corps Cpl Maureen Friedly, who was sexually assaulted by a fellow marine in 2006 while attending the Navy School of Music. She pressed charges against her attacker and requested an unrestricted investigation. I will now read her words into the Record:

I went to an NCIS investigator who questioned me about the day I was attacked and, after hearing my testimony, told me that I would have to take a lie detector test to insure I was not filing falsely. I agreed to it but was never asked anything by my investigator again. My chain of command made it very clear that they preferred my attacker,

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who was a platoon leader, over me and supported him through everything. When I graduated from the school and went to my duty station in San Diego, CA, my new chain of command tried to help me find out what had happened to my case as I had not heard about it for several months. A few weeks passed before we found that my paperwork had been mishandled, and I was told that nothing could be done and my attacker would go out to the fleet.

Eventually it was found that he had sexually assaulted several other women and he was administratively separated from the Corps, not charged, and not given a dishonorable discharge.

Her remarks say more than I ever could about the need for enacting the Military Justice Improvement Act. The reforms contained in the measure already are a vitally important step in the right direction. Taking these decisions out of the chain of command is important to good order and discipline because eliminating the crime of sexual assault and providing for greater reporting is vital to good order and discipline. Our experience shows that it has worked when our allies implemented it. Whatever the claims about numbers of cases reported in those allies' armies, clearly they are satisfied with the way it has worked there.

Finally, let me just say that I appreciate the bipartisan efforts on this bill on both sides. I think that eventually we will see this kind of reform. Whether or not it is approved today, history is moving in this direction, demanded and driven by the brave men and women who have suffered from this crime, the survivors and victims whose voices we have heard, and the commanders and veterans who have come forward to us, all of the major veterans organizations that have made their voice heard to us and who wholeheartedly have said: This kind of reform is necessary to vindicate and support the brave men and women who put their lives on the line for our Nation day in and day out, whose excellence should be matched by a military justice system that truly and really looks for zero tolerance and achieves zero tolerance in sexual assault.

I yield the floor.

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