Political Quotes

“I rise to address one of the most difficult issues we have faced in this bill, an issue on which the Armed Services Committee spent a great deal of time, in fact more time than on any other issue this year. It is the issue of sexual assault in the military. At our very first hearing where we were discussing this with a group of people, I made the observation that the only sure, long-term way to confront and defeat this tragic problem is through a change in the culture. It has to become unacceptable in the culture of our armed services that sexual assault is in any way tolerated or ignored. We have to solve this. It is a problem that has been festering for years. I understand the impatience of those who say we have been waiting for too long, we have to take strong steps. I think it is very important to realize that in the bill that is already before us are strong steps, the most comprehensive package of sexual assault provisions that has ever been in any Defense bill, to my knowledge, in the history of this institution. It has been taken seriously. It has been dealt with in a comprehensive way, some of the strongest changes ever. I think one of the most important I want to highlight is the criminalization of retaliation. A great deal of the discussion has been about reporting and the reluctance of victims to report, in part because of retaliation.…”