Barbara Boxer: “So when people stand here and start attacking that bill and saying how awful it is, I want them to remember just a few…”

“So when people stand here and start attacking that bill and saying how awful it is, I want them to remember just a few of the organizations that stand with Senator Gillibrand: the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America--do you want to listen to the bureaucrats or do you want to listen to the people who know what is going on--the Vietnam Veterans of America; the Service Women's Action Network; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the National Congress of Black Women, Inc.; the YWCA. There are 45 organizations. I have a very strong message for colleagues: Do not filibuster justice. Do not filibuster the Gillibrand bill. Do not filibuster the McCaskill bill. My goodness, these women deserve an up-or-down vote on their bills. And the only reason I think some are forcing a filibuster on the Gillibrand bill is they know we have a majority. Just how strong it is we will find out. But what a sad day, when 17 women in the Senate support both approaches--17 of the 20 women--that we are facing a filibuster on the Gillibrand bill. Do not filibuster justice. It is pretty simple. You are going to hear a lot of words from politicians like me. Fine. But I think it is important to listen to the words of the victims and find a little humility--stories of victims such as Amando Javier, who served in the Marine Corps in 1993. He was brutally raped and physically assaulted by a group of fellow marines. Ashamed and fearing for his life, he kept his rape a secret for 15 years.…”