Jackie Speier: “I thank the gentleman for the time and for his outstanding leadership, patience, and perseverance. I also thank Ranking…”

“I thank the gentleman for the time and for his outstanding leadership, patience, and perseverance. I also thank Ranking Member Thornberry for his many years of distinguished service to our Nation, both in the military and in Congress. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member of the committee, Mr. Kelly; also the committee staff, Craig, David, Hannah; and my personal staff, Josh, Brian, and Luke. Before I speak about the conference agreement, I feel like I must speak about the Fort Hood Independent Review, which was ordered after Specialist Vanessa Guillen's murder. This is the report. It is being released in a matter of 3 minutes by the Secretary of the Army. I won't go into details, but I will say that it is a damning expose of a system at Fort Hood that does a shameful disservice to the sacrifices of our servicemembers and their families. The report makes clear what I have been saying since before I was on the Armed Services Committee, that the Army sexual assault and harassment response has failed, that servicemembers are afraid to report, believe they will not be taken seriously and will be retaliated against, and that major systemic changes are needed, including greater independence from the chain of command for handling sexual assault and harassment. Any parent reading this report would have to ask themselves: Is my son or daughter safe in the military? This bill is not perfect. Important provisions on sexual assault and domestic violence were left out.…”