Jackie Speier

And the intention is to lie to them, deceive them, and coerce them out of their abortion decisions.

That was, in fact, what happened. So we put on notice all Americans in Afghanistan, on April 27, it was time to get out.

So then-President Trump calls for a total withdrawal by May 1, 2021, and no plans had been made during his administration for withdrawal.

It was in 2017 that then-President Trump relaxed rules of engagement for air strikes, and there was a massive increase in civilian casualties.

There`s going to be blood on their hands, you`re going to see the stock market plummet as the increase in interest rates, you`re going to see Social Security recipients not receiving their checks. And we`re going to point to the…

What they should realize is that his 36 years in the Senate is paying off for the American people. He made a commitment to try and negotiate with Republicans and he has delivered on that commitment.

We`re turning the tables now. We`re saying, all right, for the rest of the country, we want to make sure that you have universal pre-K. That you have childcare. That you have in fact some chance of making it in this country, with community…

Let me just conclude by urging all of you to recognize that we are the last to respond more often than not.

The other issue that is plaguing me, as well, is child abuse.

I think it is important to point out that, if they go to court-martial and are convicted, they can be jailed, they can be separated from the military, they can lose rank.

There should be a mandatory restitution provision for victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault within the military context.

I thought that was a way of establishing accountability and hopefully to discourage that kind of behavior.

To underscore that point, a recent RAND study, as I am sure you are aware, Dr. Hicks, indicates that 40 percent of the victims of sexual assault are LGBTQ members.

Deputy Secretary, you are aware, of course, that many other countries have included nonmilitary felonies and it has not impacted good order and discipline or unit cohesion, including the U.K., Canada, Germany, Israel, correct?

Would you make the committee aware of what installations are in that particular group?

The IRC recommended that sexual harassment be investigated by trained investigators outside the chain of command.

I strongly believe that commanders must retain full authority over all other offenses.

Both victims and the accused deserve better. I agree that the time has come to move the prosecution of rape and sexual assault and related crimes to dedicated uniformed special prosecutors outside the chain of command.

When Vanessa Guillen's murder took place at Fort Hood, the inspector general went down within a short period of time, came back, and reported that everything was just fine.

I appreciate you being here today.

I believe the commission's rationale for removing sexual assault prosecution decisions from the chain of command also applies to other felony-level offenses that are non-military-specific.

One in four service women and 1 in 16 service men experience sexual harassment.

I just want to say on behalf of all of us how deeply grateful we are for your professionalism.

Let me just follow up with that briefly, Ms. Tokash.

The gentleman's time has expired.