Motion to Instruct Conferences on H.R. 3230, Pay Our Guard and Reserve Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for the military sexual trauma provisions that were included in the Senate-passed H.R. 3230 and to urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to instruct conferees to accept these provisions.

As you know, the statistics on military sexual assault are staggering. In 2012, a Pentagon survey estimated that 26,000 women and men were sexually assaulted. However, the Pentagon only received 3,374 formal allegations. Clearly, there remains a deep-seated cultural problem in the military that discourages our servicemen and -women from coming forward to report cases of sexual assault.

Nonetheless, if one counts those cases reported, more and more men and women are currently leaving the military with PTSD from sexual assault. This cannot continue. Military sexual assault is the ultimate violation of the basic principles of trust, respect, honor, and dignity that is the bedrock of the principles our military men and women expect and deserve, and they are principles our country rightly demands.

Changing culture, as anyone from the public or private sectors know, and those of us dealing with issues at the Veterans Administration know all too well, changing culture is very difficult. But the culture of our military must change, and we, my colleagues, need to accelerate that change, from the military chain of command to reforms of our military justice system.

Clearly, preventing military sexual assault in the first place is critical, but it is equally critical that we provide servicemembers leaving the military who have suffered from sexual assault, to make access to care at the VA easier and safer, to make sure survivors get the benefits and services they need, and to ensure that the VA provides the very best treatment possible.

Compassion and care are a critical part of healing for those who have been sexually assaulted. We need an environment where it is safe to speak up and where we would never find anyone's story unjustly dismissed or treated with indifference, which would only make the trauma and the wound even deeper.

We have a bill before us that provides relief not only for those who have endured sexual assault, but for so many of the issues facing our veterans at this very moment.

I deeply appreciate the leadership from our chairman on the committee, who has done a tremendous amount to help our veterans, and he continues to do so. But the time to act is now. The crisis is clear. We have a path to address it. We have veterans who deserve it, and we have a Congress willing to provide the resources needed.

We have said time and time again in our hearings we need big change and big ideas. We need real transformation, and, most importantly, we need a VA whose sole purpose and mission is to serve our veterans with the same vigor and sacrifice that our veterans have served our country.

Mr. Speaker, our veterans must come first in everything we do. There is a lot of work ahead of us that the VA needs to do, and our committee must continue to do so. Persistent and consistent oversight every step of the way on our part will leverage the leadership and the strategic plan from within the VA to ensure that we deliver timely and quality health care with a compassion that our veterans and their families have earned and deserve.

I have no doubt that the leadership of the chairman has been instrumental to our committee's being able to work together in a bipartisan fashion to get us to this point, and it is imperative that we continue to work in a bipartisan fashion. Our veterans are counting on us, and our country is counting on us.

As ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health and someone who has respected all of the work of the committee on these issues, it is my belief that our veterans simply cannot and should not wait another day.

We have a bill that the Senate has passed and that we know the House would pass. We are currently scheduled by the Speaker to recess next Thursday. If the Speaker keeps to that timeline, we need to accept what is on the table: a bill that we know can pass both Houses and that we know the President will sign so that our veterans receive the care they deserve. We must include the provisions to improve VA treatment for survivors of military sexual trauma.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to instruct conferees, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

In closing, I would like to add that as ranking member of the Health Subcommittee, I led a hearing last July to address VA care and treatment for military sexual trauma survivors.

The subcommittee looked at the coordination of care and services offered by the Department of Defense and the VA. I was truly saddened to listen to the testimonies of those who spoke. Their pain and suffering was evident in every word they spoke. I know it was hard for all of them to share their stories, and I know all of us understand the immense bravery it took for them to do so.

I know that all of us, including those who have come to speak today, are dedicated to addressing military sexual assault. The Senate bill takes an important step forward toward that end. It is but one very important reason why I call on my colleagues to support this motion to instruct.

Let's insist that the Department of Defense and the VA address the epidemic of military sexual assault, which must include appropriate care and treatment of trauma survivors, and let's adopt the language in the Senate bill that addresses military sexual trauma.

We have a bill before us that was crafted by Members of Congress whose dedication to our veterans is beyond question, but we are running out of time. We have a bill that we know will pass both Houses, that we know the President will sign, that we know will provide significant relief to our veterans immediately.

We simply cannot negotiate any longer. Time is of the essence. We should move forward. We should adopt the Senate bill.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to instruct conferees, and, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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