Political Quotes

“I am here today to speak in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, and I am very privileged to serve as the chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. I first want to begin by thanking Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their support for the provisions in the bill that go to address the important issue of sexual assault in the military. Ms. Tsongas and I were tasked by the ranking member and the chairman to come up with a bipartisan solution. We worked directly with the staffs of both the ranking member and the chair, and we believe that we have put provisions in this bill with the full bipartisan support of the committee, which will end the re-victimization of the victim. We have a problem of sexual assault in the military, and that problem is that the perpetrators feel safe and that the victims feel insecure and re-victimized. This bill includes provisions of the Turner-Tsongas BE SAFE Act. It also includes provisions from Representatives Heck, Walorski, Noem, Castro, Sanchez, and Duckworth. Basically, this bill will strip commanders of their authority to dismiss a conviction for a serious offense by a court-martial, and it significantly limits the commander's ability to modify or dismiss the sentence determined by a court-martial, but we go even beyond that. This bill says if you commit a sexual assault, you are out. If you have an inappropriate relationship between a trainer and a trainee, you are out.…”