National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I wish to reiterate my strong support for Senator Gillibrand's reforms to the military justice system. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this act, and I should add it has been a pleasure working with Senator Gillibrand on the issue. Her passion and commitment to rooting out sexual assault in the military ought to be inspiring to all of us, and watching how she negotiates and how she lobbies for her ideas can teach all of us a good lesson.

I should also add that I appreciate the work of the Armed Services Committee, which added a large number of commonsense reforms to the underlying bill. In fact, some of them are so commonsense that one has to wonder why the military hasn't adopted them already or, if need be, asked for legislation to do so before now.

For instance, the bill before us provides that people convicted of certain sexual assault offenses may not join the Armed Forces--common sense. It requires mandatory discharge from the Armed Forces of any member convicted of certain sexual assault offenses--common sense. It directs a comprehensive review of the adequacy of training pertaining to sexual assault prevention and response--common sense.

The underlying bill also has a number of provisions to address certain concerns about commanding officers not handling sexual assault charges properly but still keeps this judicial process in the chain of command. That is inappropriate; hence, this amendment.

We have tried working within the current system. This isn't a new issue. Military leaders have been making emphatic promises about tackling the problem of sexual assault for years and years, but the problem only seems to be getting worse. What is more, the current system appears to be part of the problem. There is a culture that has to change, and it won't change by itself.

According to a recent Defense Department report, 50 percent of female victims stated they did not report the crime. Why? Because they believed that nothing would be done with their report.

Seventy-four percent of females and 60 percent of males perceive one or more barriers to reporting sexual assault. Sixty-two percent of the victims who reported a sexual assault indicated they received some form of professional, social, or administrative retaliation. This should not happen in a military where everybody ought to be looking out for everybody else.

A very cohesive unit is essential for everybody's protection but also for the success of the mission. So it is a terrible deterrent when sexual assaults ought to be reported 100 percent but aren't. If sexual assault cases are not reported, it is quite obvious, common sense tells us they can't be prosecuted. If sexual assault isn't prosecuted, common sense ought to tell us it leads to predators remaining in the military and a perception that that sort of activity will be tolerated or a person can get away with it. Common sense tells us that people get away with it.

By allowing this situation to continue, we are putting at risk the men and women who have volunteered to place their lives on the line. We are also seriously damaging military morale and military readiness. Taking prosecutions out of the hands of commanders and giving them to professional prosecutors who are independent of the chain of command will help ensure impartial justice for the men and women in uniform.

I know some Senators will be nervous about the fact that the military is lobbying against this legislation. There is a certain awe that permeates among Senators when people with stars on their shoulders appear among us. We are being asked, once again--that environment is here--to wait and see if the latest attempt to reform the current system will do the trick. I respond that the time for trying tweaks to the current system and waiting for another report or study has long since passed.

We also hear that this measure will affect the ability of commanders to retain good order and discipline. I would like to be clear that we in no way take away the ability of commanders to punish troops under their command for their military infractions. Commanders also can and should be held accountable for the climate under their command. But the point here is sexual assault is a law enforcement matter, not a military one.

If anyone wants official assurances that we are on the right track, we can take confidence in the fact that an advisory committee appointed by the Secretary of Defense himself supports our reforms. On September 27 of this year, the Defense Advisory

Committee on Women in the Services--and I believe that acronym is DACOWITS--voted overwhelmingly in support of each of the components of the Military Justice Improvement Act amendment.

This advisory committee isn't something new. These various advisory committees under different Secretaries of Defense have been around since 1951 when they were created by then-Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall. The committee is composed of civilian and retired military men and women who are appointed by the Secretary of Defense to provide advice and recommendations on matters and policies relating to the recruitment and retention, treatment, employment, integration, and well-being of highly qualified professional women in the Armed Forces. Historically, this advisory committee's recommendations have been very instrumental in affecting changes to laws and policies pertaining to military women.

The bottom line is--and, again, this is common sense--this isn't some advocacy group or fly-by-night panel. It is a longstanding advisory committee handpicked by the Secretary of Defense, and it supports the substance of our amendment to a tee.

I know it is easier to support incremental reforms. That is even prudent in some cases. However, when we are talking about something as serious and life-altering as sexual assault, we cannot afford to wait any longer than we already have. Our men and women serving in this military deserve bold action to solve this problem--not in a few years or a little bit at a time but right now. So I urge my colleagues to be bold and join us in this effort. It is the right thing to do.

It seems to me as though a lot of debates in this body get complicated, and this one seems to be complicated too by some people. But it is really a very simple issue. It doesn't need to be this complicated, because it talks about changing the culture. I know there are cultures in every bureaucracy that need to be changed that affect their operations, but none of them are as damaging as the No. 1 responsibility of the Federal Government. So a culture in the Defense Department has to be taken seriously. We have to change the culture.

When one joins the military--and I haven't been in the military so I don't speak with authority, but it seems to me as I understand the military--I have a grandson in the Marines and I had sons in the military. But when a person joins, they join because they feel that everybody in that unit will have each other's back. There should be no fear of anyone--anyone--in the unit. There should be nothing but respect for each other. Members of the military should have confidence in each other and loyalty toward each other. They are all on the same mission. None of them should be considered an enemy. None of them should have any particular power over another. That is what this sexual assault thing is all about--power over weak individuals--not weak because of who they are, but weak because of the power of the people above.

This is badly needed legislation.

I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source