Jane Harman: “I opposed it then, and I oppose it now. No good has ever come of that policy. And I applaud the personal courage of…”

“I opposed it then, and I oppose it now. No good has ever come of that policy. And I applaud the personal courage of current Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen who told Congress, ``No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.'' The en bloc amendment which we are now debating includes language I coauthored with Rules Committee Chair Slaughter to give victims of military sexual trauma the ability to seek a base transfer. MST is an epidemic which subjects a growing number of servicemembers to serious assault and rape. It is horrifying that women in our military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq or Afghanistan.”