Jackie Speier: “Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule. Here are the facts, Members: We have a crisis in the military…”

“Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule. Here are the facts, Members: We have a crisis in the military when it comes to sexual assault cases. We have a 50 percent increase in the number of persons filing claims for sexual assault in the military as a result of the most recent study. Here are the facts, Members: There are more than 200 Members in this House right now who support taking sexual assault cases out of the chain of command, and yet we do not have the ability to have a vote on the floor of this House on whether or not Members of this House support taking sexual assault cases out of the chain of command and putting them in the hands of a chief prosecutor, who has legal training. Members, the elephant is in this room. It is time for us to have the guts to stand up and be counted on whether or not we want all members of the military to be safe or only those who do not file claims for sexual assault.”