The Public Record
Jackie Speier is a former U.S. Representative from California, serving in the House of Representatives from January 3, 2008, until January 15, 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented California's 14th congressional district. Speier is known for her advocacy on issues such as women's rights, healthcare, and gun control. She gained national attention for her work on the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights and her efforts to address military sexual assault. Speier's political career began in the California State Assembly, where she served from 2002 to 2006 before moving to the U.S. Congress.
I thank the chair of the committee for yielding. Madam Speaker, this is a powder keg. This is not as my colleagues on the other side are trying to suggest it is, but they are dealing with alternative facts. As co-chair of the Whistleblower…
Instead, Sterling has made a mockery of our laws and has used forced arbitration to make 70,000 women in this country subject to a 14-year process. That is not justice. That is enslavement.
This inspector general -- this is not if you are a conspiracy theorist who believes in the deep state, this is not somebody who has been brewing into the deep state for a decade. This is somebody appointed by President Trump.
What's so troubling here is, one, that it has been designated as being urgent. And urgent means it is a very serious national security risk.
Such extraordinary courage and such painful memories that you had to live through once again, but in so doing you have provided us with a great deal of understanding of how ubiquitous this issue is.
We are here today because domestic violence has become a forgotten crisis in our military.
I am, frankly, sick and tired that we have each service having a different set of standards.
I would have to agree with my other colleagues. In addition to the command definitely being held responsible, the failure of their role in stepping forward and recognizing the reported abuse, the evidence of abuse...
He should have absolutely been held accountable. Being found guilty of fraud and spousal abuse should have absolutely happened.
I do hold his command fully accountable for the eventual outcome because I had done everything right.
If they don't like that criteria, we can find other officers that want to have an Army or armed services that is respected.
They should not have discretion when it comes to abusing your spouse or your children.
I want to welcome everyone to this hearing of the Military Personnel Subcommittee on domestic violence in the military.
Until we have that higher level command and we hold a commander accountable for their career for failing to manage their forces, we are never going to get there.
I believe the military takes this problem seriously, but it is clear that leadership needs to address this threat with renewed urgency.
That is absolutely correct. And it is really important for us to make the public aware that whether you know it or not you are probably signing these arbitration clauses every time you sign up for a particular program, a particular…
It is now my pleasure to yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Bustos), my good friend and colleague who also has spent a great deal of time working on this issue of forced arbitration as it relates to sexual harassment.
So this is a consumer who went to get a package of three massages at Massage Envy?
She signed up for it and then decided she didn't want to do it and didn't read the fine print that said she had to go to arbitration?
Actually, no, I don't. It sounds like someone talking about repairing one's car, but, you know . . .
I thank the gentlewoman from Florida. I am going to end, Madam Speaker, with two cases because they are both egregious in their own right. One is about Irene Morissette, an 87-year-old Catholic nun. Now think about this for a minute. An…
Politicians like Jackie Speier
