Date: 2013-06-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 1864. I stand today in support of women. I stand today in support of the armed forces. and in support of veterans. both male and female. all throughout this great country. As our armed forces fight everyday to protect us. serve us. and guarantee our safety. it is. in turn. our duty to do all that we can to protect them. That is why I stand in support of H.R. 1864. and implore my colleagues to do the same. This bill not only ensures protection for whistle blowers and deters retaliation from complaints. but it also serves as an important step in guaranteeing the safety of those who protect us. The Pentagon reported this spring that an estimated 26.000 troops experienced sexual assault last year. This number is an estimate because only 3.374 of the assaults were reported. Out of 26.000 assaults. only 3.000 were reported. That means that about 890% of all assaults went unreported. And thats only half the battle. Out of the more than 3.000 assaults reported. less than 10% of the suspects involved were convicted. Further. a report publicized by the San Antonio ExpressNews. detailed an investigation in May that found that half of the convicted offenders were allowed to stay in the military. This is outrageous. It is proof of a broken system. one that is doing our service women a complete disservice. It is a compound injury. beginning with assault. ending with underreporting. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle seem to be missing the point. Senator MCCAIN would discourage women from enlisting until the military can clean up its act. Senator CHAMBLISS attributes the problem to natural hormone levels in males. saying during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on sexual assaults in the military that: "The young folks that are coming into each of your services are anywhere from 17 to 2223. Gee whizthe hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur." This is not just a classic case of "boys will be boys" as Senator CHAMBLISS suggests. this goes beyond a "hookup mentality". and discouraging women from joining the armed forces is NOT the answer. as Senator MCCAIN would suggest. The system is broken. And our service women are suffering as a result. This is a structural problem. and as such. requires a structural solution. By approving H.R. 1864. we begin to change the structure of the legal processes surrounding sexual assault. The number of sexual assault victims in the military is intolerable. as is the rate of underreporting. Victims lack confidence in the military justice system. with good reason. and do not come forward because they fear that reporting a fellow service member will result in negative unintended consequences. This legislation strengthens existing protections and ensures victims do not suffer reprisal for reporting acts of sexual assault. It is important that we create the proper avenues for victims of sexual assault to avoid revictimization through the legal process. This is the very least we can do for the service men and women who serve us 24/7.365. I urge all members of the House to join me in voting to protect our protectors by voting "aye" on H.R. 1864.