Jackie Speier: “Before presenting the topic on which I plan to speak about this morning, I want to take a couple of minutes to talk…”

“Before presenting the topic on which I plan to speak about this morning, I want to take a couple of minutes to talk about the career of the gentleman from New Jersey, Congressman Rob Andrews, who leaves this House on February 18 after a remarkable career. We will be losing an amazing talent, a great intellect, and a fine leader. It has been a great privilege to serve with him and to watch him do his work so ably. We will miss you, Rob. I now rise, Mr. Speaker, to speak for the 29th time on this House floor about rape in the military. I rise today to speak on a scathing report on military sexual assault by the Associated Press. Sexual assault scandals exposed by the press are the new norm for the military, but this damning report offers us a window into the gross mishandling of sexual assaults at the hands of the chain of command on a massive scale. This weekend, a deluge of sex crime reports in Japan have been revealed, thanks not to the military disclosing them, but to the Associated Press through FOIA requests. The data reveal how broken the military scales of justice truly are and offers a rare glimpse into how reports of sexual assaults are handled. Many of these stories involved commanders that undermined investigations, refused to bring a case to court-martial, or overturned a case after a jury had found the perpetrator guilty and sentenced them to jail.…”