{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pingree.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pingree-touts-revised-question-21-significant-improvement-over-original", "Pingree touts revised Question 21 as significant improvement over original", "2016-11-21", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "ME", "Chellie Pingree", "P000597", "pingree.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today welcomed a newly finalized Question 21 on the national security clearance form that will address key concerns of sexual assault survivors. \u00a0In addition, she applauds a policy reversal that aims to remove the long-standing stigma\u2014and risk to one\u2019s clearance\u2014associated with seeking mental health care for personal wellness and recovery.\u00a0\nIn a back-and-forth that has gone on since 2011, Pingree has pushed Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to change the question to offer relief to sexual assault survivors who wouldn\u2019t seek counseling for fear of having their clearance rejected. His office advised her of the change the day before his resignation was announced earlier last week.\n\u201cGetting this question changed has been a very long process, but I think the finished product will allow service members\u2014and indeed, any survivor of sexual assault with a security clearance\u2014to feel more comfortable getting the counseling they need,\u201d said Pingree. \u00a0\u201cThe form clearly states that seeking counseling is not a reason to revoke or deny a clearance. It allows survivors to forgo reporting counseling for their assaults if they feel their condition has not severely affected their judgment. \u00a0And it is more fair in treating the effects of combat and sexual assault in the same way.\u201d\nOriginally, Question 21, which deals with psychological and emotional health, asked, \"In the last 7 years, have you consulted with a mental health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, etc.) or have you consulted with another health care provider about a mental health related condition?\" \u00a0\nAmong several other questions, the form now asks if an individual has a mental health condition that \u201csubstantially adversely affects your judgment, reliability or trustworthiness?\u201d The form goes on to clarify that those in counseling may answer \u201cno\u201d if they feel that their condition does not affect their judgment. \u00a0It lists both combat service and sexual assault as possible examples of such circumstances. You can read the question in full here, as well as an explantion from DNI Clapper.\u00a0\n\u201cI think the newly written question offers flexibility, assurance, and equity that was not there before. This effort required extensive collaboration among federal agencies, and the resultant changes put the focus where it belongs\u2014on an assessment of each individual\u2019s capacity to protect our national security interests,\u201d said Pingree. \u00a0\u201cI am grateful that the women and men who reach out to my office every day no longer have to fear risking their careers by being proactive with their trauma recovery. \u201d \u00a0\u00a0\n Background on Question 21 changes \nBeginning in 2008, service members whose conditions stemmed from combat were exempted from having to report their counseling. \u00a0Such an exemption did not extend to those who were sexually assaulted during their service.\u00a0\nAs Pingree became nationally known for her work to make it easier for survivors of military sexual trauma to receive disability benefits, she heard from many survivors who were not seeking counseling because they feared disclosing it would keep them from getting the security clearance they needed to be hired or promoted.\u00a0\nPingree first wrote to Clapper in 2011, requesting that the combat exemption be extended to survivors of military sexual assault. \u00a0In 2012, Clapper agreed to rewrite the question. \u00a0Joined by Congresswoman Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, Pingree continued to push Clapper to move quickly on the issue and interim guidance was released in 2013 allowing sexual assault survivors to answer \u201cno\u201d on the question. \u00a0In the years since then, they have urged the agency to adopt a more permanent solution.\nDetails on this process can be found here", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pingree.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pingree-touts-revised-question-21-significant-improvement-over-original"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.729838851839304, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}