Providing for Further Consideration of H.R. 1960, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. I thank my friend, Mr. McGovern, for yielding.

I rise to speak today on sexual assault in the military and the need for justice and reform. This issue carries great significance for me, as I represent the area around Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

The community in San Antonio, like communities across the country, was appalled to learn of the events that took place at Lackland. The sexual misconduct by military training instructors at Lackland has been one of the largest sexual misconduct scandals and investigations within the military. Similar stories have also surfaced from the academies to forward operating bases and now in the Pentagon.

When events like this occur, we must do two things:

first, we must provide justice swiftly, and second, we must implement reforms to prevent future transgressions.

I'll continue to work with the committee to make sure that the recommendations for reform are implemented and serve as a model for the other branches of service.

This legislation does make progress in combating military sexual assault, but let us not forget that there is still much work to be done.

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