Bill Lee: “Let me thank Congresswoman Frankel for being such an exemplary chair, and also our vice chair, Brenda Lawrence. You have…”

“Let me thank Congresswoman Frankel for being such an exemplary chair, and also our vice chair, Brenda Lawrence. You have put together quite a team and really are raising the issues that really don't get raised oftentimes on behalf of our women. Also, to Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who I believe is in a hearing right now dealing with this very, very important issue, I want to thank her and all of our women in the Democratic Women's Working Group for organizing this very important Special Order to address the nonconsensual sharing of sexual images in the United States military. I just have to say a couple of things. First of all, as a member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee and as a woman, I am appalled by the sharing of these private photos. It is really disgraceful. It is disgraceful that our military continues to uphold a culture of sexual harassment and disrespect toward women servicemembers. Now, let me be clear. The attitudes towards women exposed by websites like the Facebook group Marines United are troubling and dangerous. Not only do such actions threaten our mission, they strip our brave servicemembers who are women of their dignity. No woman should have her private photos exposed on the internet, especially not by her fellow servicemembers. I was pleased to see the recent Navy and Marine Corps decisions to make the distribution of intimate photos a criminal offense. That is a good thing.…”