Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment which would increase funding for the Department of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response programs. The men and women of our Armed Forces sacrifice a great deal to serve our country. When they enlist, they do so knowing that they may be sent into violent and dangerous situations to confront an adversary. What they do not sign up for is the violence of being sexually assaulted by one of their own fellow servicemembers. We need to do better by all those who wear the uniform. I am encouraged that the Department of Defense has established Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program to prevent these crimes from occurring, and to ensure that victims have the resources they need to recover should an incident occur. But the number of servicewomen and -men who experience sexual assault in the military remains staggering. Last year alone, the Department of Defense received over 6,750 reports of sexual assault involving servicemembers. Meanwhile, DOD estimates that only one in three servicemembers who experience a sexual assault file a report. Clearly, sexual assault remains a serious issue in the Armed Forces. With over 1 million Active-Duty troops, and over 800,000 serving in the Guard and Reserves at installations all over the world, sexual assault prevention and response programs require our full support and funding.…”