Unanimous Consent Request--S. 1520

Floor Speech

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I rise for the sixth time to call for this entire body to have the opportunity to consider and cast their votes on the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act. This commonsense reform would ensure that people in the military who are subjected to sexual assault and other serious crimes have the opportunity to get the justice that they deserve.

Under the current system, fewer than 1 in 10 sexual assault cases that are considered for command action are sent to trial, and under the current culture, nearly 2 in 3 sexual assault survivors experience some form of retaliation for reporting that crime. That means a survivor of sexual assault is far more likely to face consequences than an assailant.

When a 2016 Pentagon survey showed that 58 percent of survivors perceived retaliation for reporting their assaults, commanders said it was unacceptable, and Congress demanded action; but instead of working to change the system or the culture, the response was to make retaliation a specific crime, despite the fact that it already was a chargeable offense under title 10, section 1034 of the United States Code. It was nothing more than window dressing. We know that is true because, in 2018, when the same survey came out again, the perceived retaliation rate went up to 64 percent.

The DOD estimates that 20,500 servicemembers are sexually assaulted each year. So you may wonder: How many documented prosecutions for retaliation did we see in the most recent year? The answer: One. Only one person has been charged for retaliation in the last year, and there have been zero convictions reported. To me, that seems more of a joke.

Under our bill, the ability to charge and prosecute retaliation would move outside the chain of command, giving survivors more confidence to come forward in knowing the prosecutors would be free to protect them. Under the status quo and under the chairman's proposal, the ability to prosecute remains in the wrong hands.

It is time to remove retaliation and other serious crimes from the purview of the chain of command. It is time to professionalize the military justice system to remove bias, protect our servicemembers, and deliver justice.

The numbers speak for themselves, and every single number represents a person--a survivor, a family member. We owe it to our survivors-- those who have gone through the horrific experience of being assaulted only to experience retaliation from their fellow brothers and sisters in arms--to change this system. The Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act will make the changes that they need.

Every day we delay a vote on this legislation is another day we deny justice to our servicemembers--the people who do so much for and give so much to our country. There is no reason to make them wait any longer.

1520 and the Senate proceed to its consideration; that there be 2 hours for debate, equally divided in the usual form; and that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote on the bill with no intervening action or debate.
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