Political Quotes

“this is a sad day for the Senate. What does it say about this body that after having seen so many brave survivors of sexual assault in the military walk through the halls of this Congress for over a year now, we can't even give them the decency of a debate on the reform they so deeply believe in--a reform they believe in so deeply that they have selflessly retold their stories, reliving some of the worst moments of their lives, all so, hopefully, someone else doesn't have to suffer what they did. They may not wear the uniform anymore, but no one can tell me they aren't still serving their country through their sacrifice. Yet we can't even agree to vote for moving forward to debate the issue? They deserve a vote. The men and women who serve in our Armed Forces deserve a vote. Anyone who has been listening has heard over and over from survivors of sexual assaults in the military how the deck has been stacked against them. For two full decades the Defense Department has been unable to uphold its continued failed promises of zero tolerance for sexual assault. But when the Senate can't even agree to debate the one reform that survivors have consistently said is needed to solve this crisis, we are telling those victims the deck is stacked against them right here in the Senate as well. Last month this Congress rushed with great speed to remove a reduction in military pensions not slated to begin until 2015--a fix I fully supported.…”