Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise in support of S. 1917, the Victims Protection Act of 2014, and S. 1752, the Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013. I have worked on this issue for years, and I am tired of lip service and empty promises of zero tolerance policies. Sexual assault in the military and service academies continues to rise. The data speaks for itself. Roughly 26,000 sexual assaults took place in the military last year. I am so proud of the seven women on the Armed Services Committee who led this effort. And I appreciate the fine men who supported them, especially Chairman Carl Levin. We are now 20 women total in the Senate. We disagree on some issues, even the bills before us. But we agree on the goal of providing more prosecutorial tools to punish criminals, ensuring fairness in the process, and getting help to victims. The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA, included more than 30 reforms addressing sexual assault in the military. They include: 13 prosecutorial reforms, 5 reforms to improve reporting of crimes, 10 reforms to improve victims services, and 2 reforms to expand the training of first responders. This is a historic piece of legislation that takes a serious and significant step towards addressing this issue. However, our work is not done. That is why I support Senator McCaskill's and Senator Gillibrand's bills to further reform our military justice system.…”