Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. The DOD just reported that in 2014 almost the same number of servicemembers--19,000--reported unwanted sexual contact as in 2010. Still, fewer than 3 out of 10 are willing to report. The overall percentage of those who are reporting openly and seeking justice is declining, and a striking 62 percent retaliation rate went unchanged from 2012. Despite retaliation having been made a crime in last year's NDAA, the Pentagon reports no indication of progress on that front. Despite the Pentagon's spin, these numbers do not show an increased trust in a system that simply isn't working for the men and women in uniform.

I wish to draw attention to comments made earlier this year by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, GEN Martin Dempsey. He said:

We are currently on the clock, if you will ..... the President of the United States said to us in December, you know what, you've got about a year to review this thing and show me you can make a difference ..... we understand that just because Senator Gillibrand's vote was defeated yesterday doesn't mean that a year from now it may not be reintroduced, and if we haven't been able to demonstrate making a difference, you know, then we deserve to be held to the scrutiny and standard.

There is no other mission in the world for our military where this much failure would be allowed. Based on General Dempsey's own timeline, our men and women in uniform deserve a vote on this broadly bipartisan reform because the military has not been able to demonstrate that they have made a difference; therefore, they should be held to the scrutiny this year.

Throughout last year we continued to see the evidence of how much further we have to go to solve the problem of sexual assaults in our military. We saw BG Jeffrey Sinclair--one of the highest ranking officers ever charged with sexual assault--walk away with a slap on the wrist, reportedly over fears that the commanding officer had rejected a plea deal on lesser charges for political reasons despite stated concerns over evidence.

That case brings up the very important issue of undue command influence--another reason why an independent justice system is needed. We should all be able to agree that our brave men and women in uniform deserve blind justice. The scale should not be tipped in either direction--in favor of a victim or an accused. Why should our servicemembers enjoy a lesser standard of justice and fairness than you and I, whose freedoms they risk everything to protect?

According to a recent story in the New York Times, an attendee of a sexual assault prevention seminar was asked if things were improving. She said:

We all laughed. Sinclair was happening then. He proved that it was a joke.

The Times also chronicled the story of a survivor they called Kris, from Ellsworth Air Force Base. On April 12, 2013, about two dozen male officers of the 37th Bomb Squadron gathered at a strip club at the beginning of a pub crawl--including her commander. She was assaulted later that night. According to the Times:

What Kris encountered since reporting the assault was the same kind of cold-shouldered skepticism on the part of her commander that Christensen had seen in a vast majority of sexual assault cases--behavior that was supposed to have changed with the military's recent vows to support those who reported sex crimes.

Further, she was retaliated against, which is now supposed to be a crime, and was told by a commander, ``It's illogical for you to think that there won't be negative consequences to your reporting.''

She said: ``I was put on a shelf.''

Why in the world would we want this commander who takes his team to a strip club and retaliates against a sexual assault victim to have the authority to decide if a crime was committed? It is insane, and it is beneath our military members.

I could read many more troubling cases, but perhaps the most eye-opening instance showing the ongoing lack of accountability was revealed in testimony by a witness at a court-martial on September 24, 2014--just 2 months ago. In this case, former Fort Leonard Wood drill sergeant Angel Sanchez was found guilty on multiple accounts of sexually assaulting female trainees. According to the witness, the command sergeant major at Fort Leonard Woods said--and remember this was just 2 months ago--``If any more sexual assault cases come forward'' the whole company of soldiers won't graduate--not ``I don't want to see any more sexual assaults''; rather, ``I don't want to see any more reports.''

Here is how we really know the system is broken: When a cadet is instrumental in obtaining the first sexual assault convictions in over a decade at the Air Force Academy, he is expelled. When a chief prosecutor is too good at his job and briefs Members of Congress, he is retaliated against and forced out. When a survivor comes forward, she is put on a shelf.

Time is short, but there is more than enough left for this Congress to actually do its job. We should not have more calls for just a little more time. The DOD has failed on this issue for over 20 years now, and the scandals of the last 12 months and the latest data show they still don't get it.

As USA Today said:

Over the decades, sexual scandals have spurred cycles of Pentagon apologies, congressional handwringing, half-baked attempts at action and nibble-around-the-edges changes. Isn't it time that women and men who serve their country so nobly have a justice system that will serve them when they are victims of crime?

I agree. Congress should vote to remove the chain of command from these crises before year's end. Our servicemembers deserve no less.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 644, S. 2992, the Military Justice Improvement Act, that there be up to 1 hour equally divided between the proponents and opponents of the bill prior to a vote on passage of the bill; that the vote on passage be subject to a 60-affirmative vote threshold; finally, that there be no amendments, points of order, or motions in order to the bill.

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. I wish to clarify a few things that are very misleading about this debate.

First of all, we are not making commanders less responsible. They are the only ones who can prevent retaliation from happening, whether it is by them or lower ranks, and they are failing in that right now. The only difference this bill makes is that 3 percent of commanders--the highest ranking commanders, generals--will no longer make this decision, but instead trained military prosecutors should make that decision. Ninety-seven percent of commanders' jobs do not change. They have to train their forces, bring them into battle, instill order and discipline, and make sure these victims are not retaliated against, and that is where they are failing. We are making commanders more responsible, not less responsible.

What I want is not the most victim-friendly place in the world. I want no victims, and that is where we are failing.

I yield the floor.

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