Political Quotes

“I want to thank Chairman McKeon, Ranking Member Smith, Chairman Levin, and Ranking Member Inhofe for including my amendment with Representative Coffman to expand whistleblower protections for survivors of military sexual assault in this year's National Defense Authorization Act. As Congress looks to change the culture and to prevent sexual assaults and other waste, fraud, and abuse in the military, all service members need to know that they have protections for providing information to stem abuses. The right to a guaranteed due process day in administrative court is the foundation for meaningful reform. Subsection f(3)(B) in these expanded protections provides that if the Secretary does not make a finding of illegal retaliation and order corrective action, the case shall be forwarded to the appropriate Board of Corrections for Military Records to receive a mandatory administrative due process hearing, ``when appropriate.'' There should not be any confusion about this provision. It is always appropriate to forward the case for hearing if jurisdiction exists for whistleblower retaliation alleged in the service member's complaint. It is only inappropriate if another provision of law provides the relevant rights, procedures and remedies to resolve the complaint, such as when the alleged misconduct is sexual harassment per se as opposed to whistleblower retaliation for disclosing sexual harassment. The SPEAKER pro tempore.…”