On the recordNovember 20, 2013
I thank Senator McCaskill, my colleague from Missouri, and Senator Gillibrand both for the effort, the time, the commitment, the focus they have made on this issue. They have clearly both been at the frontlines of changing the underlying bill. There are two things Senator Gillibrand said that I absolutely agree with. The underlying bill is strong. It is a step in the right direction. It is the result of our committee debate, our committee action. I think I heard the Senator from New York say she was supporting the McCaskill amendment which adds even additional strength to that. I also am supporting that amendment. I think it does make the bill even stronger. It says the commanders will be evaluated based on this as one of the factors; that no longer would this just be something if it happens to come up you talk about it, but the commanders will be evaluated based on what they did to change the command atmosphere, what they did to protect people against sexual assault, what they did to create an atmosphere where these things not only do not happen, but when they do happen, they are vigorously dealt with and looked to as something that has to be dealt with, and the commander should be evaluated in that way. There is another layer of review in the McCaskill amendment. If the commander disagrees with something that has happened in this process, they have to kick that review up another level. The so-called good soldier defense is no longer a defense.…
