Political Quotes

“I rise today to address the need to reform our military justice system. Just this month, the Department of Defense released its annual report on sexual assault in the military. That report and more than a decade of data on sexual assault in the military show a clear and disturbing trend. Reports of sexual assault have increased virtually every single year and remain at record highs, while prosecution and conviction rates have declined, including a shocking 10 percent point decline in the prosecution rate from last year. By every measure that you can imagine, we are moving in the wrong direction. Congress has given the military more than $1 billion--$500 million in fiscal year 2019 alone--enacted hundreds of provisions, and chartered special panels, Commissions, and advisory committees to address this problem. Not one of these steps has reduced the prevalence rate of sexual assaults within the ranks. We are still getting reports like the one we got from Fort Hood, which found that the world's largest Army base was ``a permissive environment for sexual assault and sexual harassment.'' We are right where we started. Nothing has changed. I have heard from too many survivors who have barely come forward in search of justice, only to have their cases outright declined by the chain of command and then face more harassment and retaliation for reporting their assailant.…”