CBS "Face the Nation" - Transcript:

Interview

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SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: It is appropriate to ask for Congress' approval for certain military actions. And he's going to do that.

We will able to debate what that request is. Certain strategies, I don't support. I don't think arming the rebels in this instance is necessarily going to be productive. We spent years training the Iraqi forces, the Iraqi police forces, the Iraqi military forces, and ISIS was able to cut through them like butter.

But there are things that he is asking our support for that I do support. I do think this multilateral engagement is wise. It has to be participations by Sunnis, by Muslims, by Arabs all across the Middle East. And if he continues to form a coalition to deal with this serious terrorist threat, that is the right approach.

SCHIEFFER: Let me talk on something else.

You were one of 16 senators who have called on Roger Goodell to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on domestic violence in the National Football League.

GILLIBRAND: I think the way the NFL handled this was awful. It was outrageous. They had all the facts they needed.

They had a player who admitted to beating his wife. They had video of him dragging her out of an elevator. There as no left -- nothing left to determine. That player should have been fired immediately. So, we are now looking to the commissioner to enforce a zero-tolerance policy.

But the broader issue, Bob, is this institutional support, this chronic institutional support, whether it's the NFL, whether it's the U.S. military, whether it's the college campus, where the institution gathers and surrounds their star player, their golden boy, whomever it may be, without any regard for the victim and survivors, without any regard for women.

And as I talk about in my book, it's about this larger issue. Are women being valued? Are they being valued by these institutions, and are they being listened to?

SCHIEFFER: Well, do you think -- have you come to a conclusion yet about whether you think Roger Goodell ought to just step down?

GILLIBRAND: Well, initially, I want him to lead the reform to actually create and enforce a zero-tolerance policy.

But the given recent debate, if he has lied, if he lied to the American people, then he has to step down, because he won't have the force of authority to change how they address these issues.

SCHIEFFER: Let's talk about this in a broader sense, because this is what you talk about in your book. What's the problem here?

GILLIBRAND: Well, the reason why I wrote this book is because I'm asking women. I'm creating a call to action, for them to be heard on the issues that they find important, on the things they deeply compare about.

And I purposely include lots of details about my life, about my mentors, my mother being one of the three women in her law school class, who's filing the details of an adoption case on the phone while she's making dinner, and my grandma, who loved politics and got a whole generation of women to care about politics.

I cite those examples because I want to use them as a way to bring in the reader to understand that their voices matter. The way they see the world may be different. And if they're not being heard, whether it's the halls of Congress or at the PTA meeting, outcomes won't be as strong. And if they do speak up and are heard, they can make things better.

SCHIEFFER: Well, the problems at the NFL is having, we also know there are these kinds of things going on in some of the other leagues. Is it time for Congress to take some action, look into any of this?

GILLIBRAND: Well, if the NFL doesn't police themselves, then we will be looking more into it. We will -- I wouldn't be surprised if we have hearings.

But, for regular women, for the women watching your show, we should be heard on these issues. And that's the point of my book.

SCHIEFFER: I was stunned at some of the revelations in your book, because I have been covering Washington and the Congress and the Senate for a long, long time, and in this chapter about your struggle with your weight and some of the comments from some of your male colleagues about your weight.

GILLIBRAND: Yes, it's incredible.

SCHIEFFER: I was stunned.

GILLIBRAND: It's incredible.

But I have to say, for the woman reading the book, she is going not only see herself in some of these stories, but it tells her that she's not alone. And I added some stories, particularly when I was a young woman, a young lawyer, where I worked really hard on a case, and on the day we're celebrating years and months of hard work, my boss talks more about my great new haircut and how I look than all the work I did.

That, as a young lawyer, was devastating. I felt so unappreciated and I felt valueless. And I want that young reader to say, huh, well, that happened to me. And I want her to say, well, you know what, I'm going to push on. And not only am I going to make partner, but I'm going to change the way this company does business and change their climate.

I want women to feel empowered and to have that sense that they're not alone. These things happen everywhere.

SCHIEFFER: Senator Gillibrand, always a pleasure. Thank you.

GILLIBRAND: Thank you.

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