Military Justice Improvement Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Madam President, I rise in strong support of Senator Gillibrand's Military Justice Improvement Act. I wish to recognize her and all of the Senators who have worked so hard on this legislation and all of the groups who have been involved.

I was very proud to be an original cosponsor of the legislation, and after more than 1 year of meeting with military sexual assault survivors and bringing attention to this ongoing crisis, I am encouraged by the historic opportunity we have today.

As Senator Levin said, this is an important debate for us to be having. I certainly applaud Senators MCCASKILL and AYOTTE and everyone who has been involved in this effort because I think it sends a very important message to our leaders in the military and to those who would perpetrate crimes of sexual violence.

Today we not only have the opportunity to make meaningful, commonsense reforms to our military criminal justice system but we also have a chance to send a very powerful message to the tens of thousands of victims--many of whom have been suffering quietly for decades--that what happened to them is not acceptable; it is criminal, and it will no longer be tolerated.

Let's be clear: Sexual assault is a crime. It is not an accident. It is not a mistake. It is a violent criminal act often perpetrated by serial offenders. We can't allow sexual assault perpetrators to escape justice in any setting but particularly when these assaults occur within our Nation's military.

Unfortunately, it has been 23 years since the Tailhook scandal, and despite the repeated assurances that the chain of command is committed to addressing this issue, we are no closer to a solution. How long will we wait? How many tens of thousands of our sons and daughters will be victims? How many will be victims without reliable access to justice?

Today we have a rare opportunity to end one of the fundamental structural biases that persists in our military criminal justice system. This is not about undermining battlefield command or good order and discipline. No one wants to do that. This is about access to justice.

Survivors overwhelmingly tell us that the reason they don't come forward is because they don't trust that chain of command. They don't trust that the chain of command will handle their case objectively, a fact that has been repeatedly acknowledged by military leaders during Armed Services Committee hearings. Placing the decision on whether to go to trial in the hands of experienced military prosecutors is a commonsense reform that will go a long way toward promoting transparency and accountability within our system.

Our military's tradition of honor and respect is too important to continue to be plagued by the status quo. We strengthen our military when victims of sexual assault have the confidence to come forward and report crimes and we remove fear and stigma from the process. We strengthen our military when we are able to deliver fair and impartial justice on behalf of victims.

Victims' eyes are on us today. There is strong bipartisan support behind the Gillibrand bill. It is on full display. I certainly urge all of my colleagues to support this measure, and let's make meaningful reform to what has happened for too long to victims of sexual assault in the military.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source