Sexual Assault in the Military

Floor Speech

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Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise this morning to speak about this year's national defense authorization legislation and the important reforms that are a part of the underlying bill to improve our military's response to sexual assault within its ranks.

The men and women in our Armed Services serve with courage in defense of our freedom every single day. In my eyes their service needs to be respected by taking decisive action to address the ongoing crisis--in fact, you can call it an epidemic--of sexual assault in the military. We know the system is broken, and it is long past time we fix it.

I wish to share just one story from a remarkable and brave woman named Rachel who lives in LaCrosse, WI.

Rachel joined the Army in 2004. She was sexually assaulted that same year while she was stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland for advanced individual training. After reporting her assault to her commanding officer, Rachel was interrogated for hours over numerous days and ultimately forced to drop the charge. She was written up for fraternization, and her assailant was not charged with any crime.

As you can imagine, Rachel was deeply affected by the trauma of this crime and continues to face struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. But Rachel is a survivor and a true inspiration. She has turned her pain and courage into a platform for advocacy and service to her community, working through her organization Survivors Empowered Through Art to raise awareness about military sexual assault through the power of art and storytelling.

Rachel's story is a reminder that she is not alone and that we must do everything that we can to make sure that all victims of sexual assault have the support they deserve. That is why I am heartened by the many important reforms included in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act and very grateful to the bipartisan coalition, in particular of women Senators who have worked so diligently to make this change happen. In particular, Senators Gillibrand and McCaskill have led the fight to make these improvements. Their efforts will make a real difference in the lives of countless Americans by preventing sexual assault in the military and greatly improving our support to victims.

However, I believe more must be done to help victims of sexual assault. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of Senator Gillibrand's amendment, which would improve on these important reforms by removing the prosecution of major crimes from the military chain of command. Instead, military prosecutors would determine whether to move a case forward, which would eliminate inherent bias and conflicts of interest which currently deter victims from reporting sexual assault crimes in the first place.

I am also filing an amendment to ensure we are including ROTC programs in our conversations about military sexual assault. Just like we must ensure our new officers from service academies meet our highest standards, we must do the same of those commissioned in ROTC programs across America.

I think the important improvements in this year's Defense authorization show the great promise of what can be achieved if we work together in a bipartisan way to get work done for the American people.

It is a tremendous privilege to be a public servant. It is a special privilege to be the first woman elected from my State to the U.S. Senate. One of the best parts for me is that I get to be a woman in the Senate at a time when there are so many incredible other women in the Senate to work with, to learn from, and to look up to. I expressly thank my Senate colleagues who serve on the Armed Services Committee--Senators McCaskill, Hagan, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Hirono, Ayotte, and Fischer. I thank them for their work in guiding this process through their committee in such an effective and bipartisan way. And my thanks of course goes as well to Senators Levin and Inhofe for their stewardship of these important provisions.

I thank Senators Mikulski and Collins for organizing today's floor speeches. The cumulative total of those changes represents true progress in eliminating the tragedy and scourge of sexual assault in our military. I once again thank my colleagues for their bipartisan work.

I yield the floor.

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