Jackie Speier: “I thank the heroic lady from Illinois, and I think, for all of us, hearing your words are profound. What we are seeing…”

“I thank the heroic lady from Illinois, and I think, for all of us, hearing your words are profound. What we are seeing here is, not only are there physical wounds, there are emotional wounds. So many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have shared with me the stories of victims who have been raped and sexually assaulted--the fear, the pain, the tears--and they all, to the woman and to the man, have said how powerless they feel. This particular amendment will give them a little leverage. This amendment is going to give them a choice. This amendment respects the chain of command. This amendment gives them the opportunity to use the chain of command or to seek to go to the chief prosecutor in each of the services to seek an investigation and an evaluation as to whether or not a prosecution should move forward. We have an opportunity here to really change the face of this issue, and I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this amendment.”