So rather than revamping the entire military Justice System, which i believe carries massive risk, our proposal improves and it updates the Current System. Unfortunately, the gillibrand proposal, i believe, takes radical steps, and it undermines a commanders responsibility for his or her troops. Under that proposal, almost all crimes, from forgery to sexual violence, theyre removed from a commanders purview. It doesnt bring that focus to the challenge were facing. Our proposal does. The other proposal detaches the commander from his or her unit, and it removes all responsibility. I do not want to remove the responsibility from a commander. We trust these people to watch our best and our brightest, our children and our grandchildren, as they go into battle. We need to trust them in this as well. Senator mccaskill brings a wealth of experience to bear on this topic from her days as a prosecutor. And i believe we should all be listening to her. She mentioned in november that the other proposal was seductively simple. I agree. I agree that its simplicity cloaks a host of very, very complex policy problems. Shes invested a lot of time in this, and shes explained the technical problems, and i echo her keynes. Her concerns. But i would like to underline one critical point to my colleagues. You know, many of our problems with the other proposal might appear to be minor procedural details. However, experience tells us that its exactly these sorts of problems that can grind a Justice System to a halt, and they can damage a legal system. That was the case in 2007 when congress, armed with the best of intentions, modified the rape statute. Those hasty changes disrupted the judicial process and compelled congress to rewrite the language. And you know what happened . It delayed justice. And so i urge my colleagues, and anyone interested in completely revamping that military Justice System, you need to be certain that all the questions are resolved and you need to be certain that the implementation will be bulletproof because anything less means delayed justice or no justice at all for the victims. I can go on, madam president , and talk about the commission that brought forth their recommendationrecommendations te remain with the commanders. They didnt say, take it away, take it away from the commanders. And the makeup o of that commission mostly civilian and mostly female. I hope that my colleagues will remember these things, look at the facts, look at how we truly can address the needs of the victims, truly find them justice. Support the mccaskill, ayotte, fischer proposal, and i would ask that you not support the gillibrand proposal. Thank you, madam president. I yield. Ms. Mccaskill madam president , i yield knife minutes to my friend from arizona, senator mccain. The presiding officer the senator arizona. Mr. Mr. Mccain i thank the senator from missouri. I want to thank her, senator ayotte and senator fisher for this difficult and emotional issue which obviously is very unpleasant and very controversial and understandably so. We are talking about the livelihood, the right to function as members of the military of women in the military. And it is a vital issue because there should be no organization that is at the level of the United States military for providing an equal opportunity and equal protection under the law than the United States military, because when these young men and women join the military, they do something very unique, and that is theyre willing to put their lives on the line for the defense of this country. And, therefore, because of this unique aspect of their lives that theyre willing to serve for the benefit of the rest of us, it is also the responsibility of those who command them. And that is unique as well. Those who command in the military may have to make the toughest decision of all, to send these young people into harms way. And no other no other person in American Society outside of the president of the United States has that responsibility. So what were really talking about here today is will we hold those commanders responsible for anything that happens within their command . Or will we take that responsibility and shift it over to a lawyer . Thats what this is really all about. Right now we have units operating in afghanistan. According frankly, according to the gillibrand proposal, if there was a charge, we might have to try to find some way to fly a lawyer in. I dont think that is either likely or agreeable. But the major point here is that we hold commanders responsible what happens under their command. And if they dont carry out those duties, then we relieve them of that command. And if they are responsible for egregious conduct, we prosecute them. Madam president , i have had the great honor of command. I have had the great honor of commanding at that time the largest squadron in the United States navy, some 1,000 people. And there were a large number of women in that Organization Even then, because it was a shorebased squadron. Now we have women throughout, im happy to say, throughout the military, including combat roles. And i can tell you that in those days we had severe racial problems in the United States military. We had race riots on aircraft carriers. And we held commanders responsible, and we punished those who practiced discrimination. And we had people in our chain of command that alerted and were responsible for the indoctrination and the good conduct of people who in any way showed a taint of discrimination. And im happy to say that i believe that the greatest equal Opportunity Organization in America Today is the United States military. We can do that with this severe and difficult and emotional issue of Sexual Assaults in the military. And the exact wrong way to do that is to make the Commanding Officer less responsible. Because if you take the responsibility from that Commanding Officer, then you are eroding his ability to lead. And i would argue their ability to fight. We have the finest commanders in our military. We have the finest men and women who are serving in the military. We are the best military in the world, and theres a reason for it. Because as we bring people up the ladder of promotion to positions of command they are tested time after time. I trust these commanders, madam president. I trust them. And with the provisions in the mccaskill bill as we have today, we will preserve that command authority, but we will also have significant increases in oversight and accountability. But to take away, take away that responsibility from the men and women who command these people, these outstanding men and women, and give it to a lawyer is not the way to go. And i hope my colleagues understand it. And i also would ask one other thing before this vote. If any of my colleagues know a member of the military that they respect, call them up. Call them up and ask them whether they would think that this proposal of the senator from new york is in any way helpful to the good functioning of the military and the elimination of Sexual Assaults. We share the same goal. There are vastly different ways to achieve that goal. Madam president , i yield the floor. Mrs. Gillibrand madam president . The presiding officer the senator from new york. Mrs. Gillibrand i yield my time to the senator from hawaii for five minutes. Ms. Hirono madam president . The presiding officer the senator from hawaii. Ms. Hirono i rise today in support of the military justice improvement act. I want to commend senator gillibrand for her outstanding work on this effort and all the survivors of Sexual Assault in the military who have courageously worked with us on this bill. I also appreciate the bipartisan effort to stop military Sexual Assaults from happening. While we all dont agree on how to get there, i know that all of us want to stop this terrible scourge in our military. Every few years when interest in this topic picks up, it stays relevant for awhile. The military leadership promises to stamp out Sexual Assault in the military and says that zero tolerance is the policy and place. Unfortunately, debt despite alle goodfaith actions taken by the department as well as congress, we are still at 26,000 incidents of rape, Sexual Assault and unwanted sexuality Sexual Conduct in the military. This bill has nothing to do with telling commanders they are fired or they are morally bankrupt. They should be held accountable for creating a command climate where assaults do not occur or certainly do not occur by the tens of thousands. This bill is focused on the victims, the survivors of these crimes. And when we listen to them, they are in support of the gillibrand bill. We all agree that commanders are responsible for maintaining good order and discipline in their units. This includes creating an atmosphere of dignity and respect for everyone under their command. Again, commanders must create an environment where sexual crimes do not occur. Our proposed changes to the military Justice System do not absolve the commander of these responsibilities. It is still their job to prevent these crimes. It is still their job to maintain good order and discipline. I have heard opponents of this legislation say that good order and discipline would be lost if the commander no longer has the courtmartial disposition authority. I disagree. This is similar to saying a could corporal, sore ghent or sergeant or junior officer would not act with respect to the commander because the commander no longer could decide whether to proceed to trial for rape or other felony level offense. That doesnt make sense. The commander is still responsible for doling out punishment for insubordination or other negative behavior. The commander is still responsible for maintaining the kind of good order and discipline a command climate where these crimes do not occur in the first place. Historically, when changes to the status quo were proposed and these include the integration of military units, opening military specialties to women, and allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly a familiar refrain from Senior Military Leadership to block such changes was to claim that the proposed changes would destroy good order and discipline. By all accounts, i would say that these successful changes to military policies did not destroy good order and discipline. When these crimes do occur, survivors deserve the ability to seek justice. They deserve a chain of command that will take these claims that, their claims seriously and take appropriate action. We have data that shows that many victims do not come forward because they do not trust that the chain of command within the Current System will act impartially. They feel that they might suffer retaliatory actions and ultimately do not report the crime. This allows the perpetrator to go free and commit additional crimes. The gillibrand bill will increase trust and confidence in the system and help the survivors seek justice. It is time to make fundamental changes to how Sexual Assault cases are handled in the military. Senator gillibrands bill would be a big step in the right direction. Her amendment would take the decision to go forward with the trial out of the chain of command and place it in the hands of an experienced military lawyer. This change would improve the judicial process by increasing transparency, by increasing trust. It would also eliminate potential bias and conflicts of interest because, unlike a Commanding Officer, the military lawyer would be unconnected to either the survivor or the accused. I want to commend our colleagues, once again, senator gillibrand and senator mccaskill, for their tireless efforts to help survivors of Sexual Assault in the military. I would also like to commend senator levin, Armed Services committee colleagues, and many other senators for working so hard on this difficult, painful issue. We have instituted many positive changes in this area, but i urge my colleagues to take the next step and support the gillibrand military justice improvement act. I yield back. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Ms. Murkowski madam president , i would ask unanimous consent that major Matthew Altman who is a military officer in my office be given floor privileges for the remainder of the 113th congress. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Murkowski thank you, madam president. I join my colleagues today in discussion about an issue that i think we all would agree is an issue that really tears at the heart, causes great anguish as we think that those who have volunteered to serve our great nation, that have agreed to put themselves on the front lines, that they would be in a situation where they would be made a victim, a victim of a military Sexual Assault, and be put in a situation where they dont know where to turn, they dont know if it is safe to speak up, they dont know how to respond. Our military men and women, i think we are proud to say, are the most professional, the most highly trained and skilled and qualified. We will match them against any. And yet when we face these very, very troubling and difficult issues of military Sexual Assault, it is an under side of the military culture that we have not been able to sufficiently address and eradicate. Madam president , the most recent report on the defense departments Sexual Assault prevention and response office, which covers 2012, speaks to the statistics, and these statistics have been reported so frequently on the floor of the United States senate. We know them. We share them. And really we agonize over them. But 26,000 an estimated 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contacts and Sexual Assaults occurred in 2013, a 27 increase from fy 2011. 25 of women and 27 of men received unwanted sexual contact which means the offender was someone within their military chain of command. And then, madam president , the statistics that go to the heart of what were talking about here today, across the services, 74 of females and 60 of males perceived one or more barriers to reporting the assault. 50 of male victims stated they did not report the crime because they believed that nothing would be done. They have been victimized once and now they dont believe that anything will happen if they speak. They dont believe that anything will be done with their report. 62 of victims who reported a assault indicated they received some sort of professional retaliation, retaliation from the system that they have been trained to trust, to be there for one another. And yet now fear of retaliation. This report was such an eyeopener for many of us, it certainly has galvanized the issue to address where we are today, to truly put on the front burner of this body the issue of what has happened with a military Sexual Assault and what we can do to address it. It has remained on the front burner thanks to the persistent efforts of the senator from new york to keep it there. She has relentlessly pursued the vote that we will take today. Regardless of its outcome, i think that she should take pride. I think that we should all take pride in what we have collectively accomplished. And i want to note the very fine work of my colleague from missouri, senator mccaskill and her efforts along with senator ayotte, senator fischer, yourself, madam chair, really to bring this issue to a level where we have seen changes that have been made already but the question that remains, is there more that can be done . This congress has significantly improved the system through amendments to the military Justice System that were included in the National Defense authorization act. The services have also done their part in looking for ways to improve their Sexual Assault and prevention programs. Like making sure that a Naval Academy midshipman need not be driven across the state of maryland searching for a hospital that has a Sexual Assault nurse examiner on duty. In my state of alaska, the headlines over the past year as it related to military Sexual Assault within the ranks of our National Guard units stunned us all. I just recently received a further briefing from our add jew tantd general and folks within the alaska National Guard in terms of what they, too, are doing to address within their own system the changes that are absolutely necessary. But the question, madam president , is whether or not these changes will move the needle on these statistics that we just recited. In my view, it remains to be seen. Will they give the victims more confidence in the system, will they deter offenders by increasing the certainty theres going to be accountability if these acts are taken . So today the Senate Considers the military justice improvement act, a measure that i think, that i think provides victims with the certainty that they need to have confidence in the system. If you dont believe the system is going to be there for you, if you dont believe its going to work for you, youre not going to report it. Youre not going to expose yourself again. As ive said on the senate floor before, this is strong medicine. It is very strong medicine. To any offender who believes that the good ole boy system will permit him to escape the consequences of his actions. In my judgment, enact of this act will lead to greater consistency. It will ensure those decisions are based on the facts and the law and not any external factor. And that, too, offers an increment of protection to victims as well as to the offenders. The Current System of military judgment relies upon the individual decisions of commanders for a decision on whether or not an offense is to be punished and which charges are to be brought. We recognize we have a complex military, and there are many, many commanders and while our code of military justice may be uniform, recent history suggests that its implementation is, unfortunately, anything but uniform. As some have called the gillibrand proposal a radical solution, and one that will make it impossible to maintain good order and discipline in the military. Madam president , i dont i dont buy that. You know, these were some of the statements that were made several years back when we were considering task dont ask, dont tell just about three years ago. The military is proving it is resilient enough to implement culture change and thats what this will take is culture change. I believe that they are resilient enough to implement a change of this magnitude and it will be resilient enough to implement the military justice improvement act. It is not a radical, a novel solution to a difficult problem. In fact, many of our allied modern militaries have moved the decision on whether to prosecute Sexual Assault outside of the chain of command. They have done it. I believe it is high time we do as well. Again, madam president , i commend those who have led so nobly on this effort to make sure that when those fine men and women stand to serve our country, there is ensured a level of justice, a level of uniformity of justice, and that we no longer see the devastating statistics that we have unfortunately been faced with for far, far too long. With that, madam president , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from new york. Mrs. Gillibrand may i be notified when seven minutes are remaining. The presiding officer the senator will be notified. The senator has four and a half minutes remaining. Mrs. Gillibrand i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from new york. Mrs. Gillibrand i ask to be notified when we have two minutes remaining. The presiding officer the senate is this a quorum call. Mrs. Gillibrand i ask it be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Gillibrand all the arguments weve heard today are technical arguments, arguments about why we cant possibly do this. But the victims and the survivors of Sexual Assault have been walking this congress for more than a year asking that we do something to protect them, to give them a hope for justice. And its not whether anyone in this chamber trusts the chain of command. The people who do not trust the chain of command are the victims. Even general amos has admitted that. He said the reason why a female marine does not come forward is because she does not trust the chain of command. That breach of trust, that fundamental breach of trust has been broken for victims of Sexual Assault. Listen to the victims. Retired marine Lance Corporal jeremy lance arbergast. He went through tile, his perpetrator got no jail time. He saw no justice for him and he said i joined the marines in order to serve my country as an honorable man. Instead i was thrown away like a piece of garbage. He attempted suicide, severed his spine and survived and now advocates for this measure from a wheelchair. That is the story, madam president , that we are hearing from victims over and over again. Sarah plummer, United States marine corps said having someone within your direct chain of command handling this case, it doesnt make sense. Its like being raped by your brother and your father deciding the case. That is the view and the perception of the survivors. The presiding officer please continue. The senator has two minutes remaining. Mrs. Gillibrand i defer my two minutes after the senator from missouri. Mrs. Mccaskill i yield three minutes to the senator from new hampshire, senator ayotte. The presiding officer the senator from new hampshire. Ms. Ayotte i thank the senator from missouri and the senator from new york for her passion in this important gate. Lets not forget the work weve already done on this in the Defense Authorization including having attorney, taking commanders out of overturning victims, making retaliation a crime. Weve bun important things but why are we here today . So heres the issue will more victims will more cases be prosecuted if we take it out of the chain of command . Actually no. There would be 93 cases under the Current Situation that wouldnt have been brought where commanders actually made a different decision. What about about those victims and those victims having their day in court . I want more victims to have their day in court. What about the issue as we think about it, why are we doing this, our some of our allies did it, we looked at that issue and what our allies, they havent seen any greater reporting. There is no evidence were going to help reporting with this. Many did it to protect defendants. Were here to protect victims today. We certainly want a system with due process but this is about having more victims come forward and i also want to make sure people understand under the system now you dont have to report to your commander. You can go to a Sexual Assault response coordinator, your clergy, your minister, civilian medical personnel. So already you can come forward if you dont feel comfortable coming forward to the commander. So no evidence has been presented that we are going to help victims more or that more cases will be prosecuted or more will come forward if we take it out of the chain of command. That is why i want to hold commanders more accountable, not less. That is what senator mccaskill and i and fischers proposal does. We want to make sure they are not let off the hook for this. We want to make sure that victims can get not only justice but make sure they get swift justice and this proposal risks delaying that justice in this system. Madam president , i would ask my colleagues to vote against senator gillibrands proposal. I would ask my colleagues to say what will hold commanders more accountable, that is our proposal. I would ask them to say wheres the evidence that more cases will be pursued or more victims will come forward . There is no evidence. And our proposal is based on the evidence. So, madam president , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mrs. Mccaskill madam president , i want to take just a couple of minutes at the close of this very difficult debate to express my deep respect for the senator from new york, senator gillibrand. I think while many aspects of this debate have been hard, perhaps the hardest part of this debate has been that this disagreement on policy has overshadowed the amazing work that so many have done this year to enact a different day in the United States military when it comes to Sexual Assault and victims of Sexual Assault. When the sun sets today, this body will have passed 35 major reforms in less than a year, making the military the most friendly Victim Organization in the world, giving victims more power, more leverage, holding commanders accountable, holding perpetrators accountable, eliminating the ridiculous notion that how well you fly a plane should have anything to do with whether or not you committed a crime. Professionalizing the process so that victims no longer endure a ridiculous amount of inappropriate questioning at what should be Something Like a preliminary hearing to establish probable cause as opposed to some kind of rendering of questioning torture to a victim who has come out of the shadows and is willing to go forward. I know i can speak with confidence for senator gillibrand that she and i have walked lockstep on those 35 reforms. We have disagreed on one. And i know in the future she and i will work very hard together to make sure that our military does the right thing by victims and that puts perpetrators where they belong, this prison and out of the ranks of the military where they stain the good name of the bravest men and women in the world. I want to thank all my colleagues for their patience during this debate. I know this has been tough for everyone. But i stand here with years of experience holding the hands and crying with victims with many victims who have spoken to me in other organizations knowing that what we have done is the right thing for victims and the right thing to hold perpetrators accountable. So i respectfully request that people support our amendment today and reject the one area of policy that the great senator from new york and i disagree on and i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from new york. Mrs. Gillibrand i want to focus this where this needs to be. This is not an opportunity to congratulate ourselves on the great reforms weve done. All of the reforms weve passed to date are meaningful and useful, but this problem isnt even close to being solved. Under the bestcase scenario, two out of ten cases are being reported today. So lets refocus on whats actually happening in our military today. Lets focus on what Airman Jessica himes who said two days before the Court Hearing his commander called me at the jag office and said he didnt believe my perpetrator acted like a gentleman but there wasnt a reason to prosecute. She was speechless. She had been promised a Court Hearing and it was she was told two days before the commander had stopped it. Trina mcdonald, u. S. Navy veteran who said at one point my attackers threw me into the bearing subcommittee sea the bearing sea and left me for dead in the hopes i would be silenced forever. They made it very clear they would kill me if i reported what had been done. She did not report these attacks, quote the people that were involved in my assaults were police personnel, security personnel, higher ranking officers, the people i would have to go to to report. Last but not least, lieutenant ariana clay, u. S. Marine corps, whose home was broken into by two colleagues, raped brutally, ultimately reported, attempted suicide. Her perpetrator convicted and convicted of what . Not breaking and entering, not rape. Calling her a slut. Quote the thing that makes me most angry is not even the rape itself. Its the commanders that were complicit in covering up