{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221042735/http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/us-senator-tammy-baldwin-delivers-senate-floor-speech-on-military-sexual-assault-", "U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Delivers Senate Floor Speech on Military Sexual Assault", "2013-11-19", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Tammy Baldwin", "B001230", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Delivers Senate Floor Speech on Military Sexual Assault \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, November 19, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tU.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Delivers Senate Floor Speech on Military Sexual Assault   \u00a0  Washington D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today joined a bipartisan group of Senate women in speaking out on the Senate floor working to support historic change in an ongoing effort to address military sexual assault.  \u00a0  Senator Baldwin\u2019s speech highlighted the story of Rachel from La Crosse, Wis., a survivor of military sexual assault who has turned her pain and courage into a platform for advocacy and service to her community.  \u00a0  \u201cThe men and women in our armed services serve with courage in defense of our freedom every single day,\u201d said Baldwin. \u201cIn my eyes, their service needs to be respected by taking decisive action to address the ongoing crisis; in fact you can call it an epidemic, of sexual assault in the military. We know that the system is broken and it\u2019s long past time that we fix it.\u201d  \u00a0  The Senate is debating the National Defense Authorization Act this week. Senator Baldwin is a cosponsor of the Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013, S. 967, legislation introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) that has earned bipartisan support. The legislation would reform the military justice system so that military prosecutors - instead of commanders - would have the independent authority to decide whether or not felony cases go to trial. Under the current system, commanders have the discretion whether or not to prosecute a service member accused of sexual assault. They also have the ability to lessen or overturn a judge or jury\u2019s conviction. Senator Gillibrand\u2019s legislation would reform Article 60 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to make the military justice system independent at the felony level.  \u00a0  According to a 2012 report released by the U.S. Department of Defense, an estimated 26,000 cases of sexual assault occurred in FY2012, a 37 percent increase from FY2011. Meanwhile, overall rates of reporting dropped from 13.5 percent in 2011 to 9.8 percent in 2012.\u00a0 According to the report, across the Services, 74 percent of females and 60 percent of males perceived one or more barriers to reporting sexual assault. In addition, 62 percent of victims who reported a sexual assault indicated they perceived some form of professional, social, and/or administrative retaliation.\u00a0 A separate report released this spring by the Department of Defense showed that more than one in five female service members reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact while serving in the military.  \u00a0  In addition to her speech, Baldwin offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that requires a study to collect data from universities, law enforcement and ROTC programs on incidents and allegations of sexual violence by ROTC cadets in order to assess whether or not there is cause for concern regarding, sexual violence within ROTC programs.  \u00a0  Watch Baldwin\u2019s speech here.  \u00a0  Below, full remarks as prepared for delivery.   \u00a0  U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin\u2019s Senate Floor Speech  Tuesday, November 19, 2013  \u00a0  Mr. President, I rise this morning to speak about this year\u2019s National Defense Authorization legislation and the important reforms that are a part of the underlying bill to improve our military\u2019s response to sexual assault within its ranks.  \u00a0  The men and women in our armed services serve with courage in defense of our freedom every single day.\u00a0 In my eyes, their service needs to be respected by taking decisive action to address the ongoing crisis; in fact you can call it an epidemic, of sexual assault in the military. We know that the system is broken and it\u2019s long past time that we fix it.  \u00a0  I want to share just one story from a remarkable and brave woman named Rachel who lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin.   \u00a0  Rachel joined the Army in 2004. She was sexually assaulted that same year when she was stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland for advanced individual training.\u00a0 After reporting her assault to her commanding officer, Rachel was interrogated for hours over numerous days and ultimately forced to drop the charge.\u00a0 She was written up for fraternization - and her assailant was not charged with any crime.   \u00a0  As you can imagine, Rachel was deeply affected by the trauma of this crime and continues to face struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.   \u00a0  But Rachel is a survivor, and a true inspiration.\u00a0 She has turned her pain and courage into a platform for advocacy and service to her community, working through her organization, Survivors Empowered Through Art, to raise awareness about military sexual assault through the power of art and storytelling.  \u00a0  Rachel\u2019s story is a reminder that she is not alone and that we must do everything we can to make sure that all victims of sexual assault have the support that they deserve.  \u00a0  That is why I am heartened by the many important reforms included in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, and very grateful to the bipartisan coalition, in particular of women Senators, who have worked so diligently to make this change happen.\u00a0 In particular, Senators Gillibrand and McCaskill have led the fight to make these improvements.\u00a0 Their efforts will make a real difference in the lives of countless Americans by preventing sexual assault in the military and greatly improving our support to victims.   \u00a0  However, I believe that more must be done to help victims of sexual assault.   \u00a0  That is why I am proud to cosponsor Senator Gillibrand\u2019s amendment, which would improve on these important reforms by removing the prosecution of major crimes from the military chain of command.\u00a0 Instead, military prosecutors would determine whether to move a case forward, which would eliminate inherent bias and conflicts of interest which currently deter victims from reporting sexual assault crimes in the first place.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nI am also filing an amendment to ensure we\u2019re including ROTC programs in our conversations about military sexual assault. Just like we must ensure that our new officers from the service academies meet our highest standards, we must do the same of those commissioned in ROTC programs across America.  \u00a0  I think the important improvements in this year\u2019s Defense Authorization show the great promise of what can be achieved if we work together in a bipartisan way to get things done for the American people.   \u00a0  I have to tell you \u2013 it\u2019s a tremendous privilege to be a public servant.\u00a0 It\u2019s a special privilege to be the first woman elected from my state to the U.S. Senate.\u00a0 But one of the best parts, for me, is that I get to be a woman in the Senate at a time when there are so many other incredible women in the Senate to work with, to learn from, and look up to.  \u00a0  I want to expressly thank my Senate colleagues who serve on the Armed Services Committee - Senators McCaskill, Hagan, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Hirono, Ayotte, and Fischer \u2013 I want to thank them for their work guiding this process through their committee in such an effective and bipartisan way.\u00a0 My thanks of course, as well go to Senators Levin and Inhofe for their stewardship of these important provisions.\u00a0 I\u2019d also like to thank Senators Mikulski and Collins for organizing today\u2019s floor speeches.   \u00a0  The cumulative total of these changes represent true progress in eliminating the tragedy and scourge of sexual assault in the military.\u00a0 I once again thank my colleagues for their bipartisan work and yield back.  \u00a0  ###", 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://web.archive.org/web/20140221042735/http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/us-senator-tammy-baldwin-delivers-senate-floor-speech-on-military-sexual-assault-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4349839184433222, "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"}