{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/permanent-subcommittee-on-investigations-demands-swift-response-to-inquiry-into-sexual-assault-and-sexual-harassment-at-the-coast-guard-academy", "Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Demands Swift Response to Inquiry Into Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment at the Coast Guard Academy", "2023-12-19", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 Today, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) Chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ranking Member Ron Johnson (R-WI) demanded that the Coast Guard immediately provide all records responsive to PSI\u2019s probe into sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy. This letter follows PSI\u2019s hearing last week with current and former Coast Guard Academy cadets, who experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation at the Academy and in the Coast Guard.\n\n\u201cIt is clear from this testimony, and the Subcommittee\u2019s inquiry to date, that the Coast Guard\u2019s culture of cover-up has allowed sexual assault and sexual harassment to persist for decades, both at the Academy and in the Coast Guard,\u201d wrote Blumenthal and Johnson in a letter to Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan. \u201cIt is equally apparent that accountability and systematic change at both the Coast Guard and the Academy are necessary to address past failures and to ensure that future cadets are protected. Full compliance with the Subcommittee\u2019s inquiry is a necessary component of these actions.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have expressed a commitment to investigate reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, hold perpetrators accountable, support victims, and be fully transparent with Congress and the American people. It is imperative that you live up to that commitment and ensure that the Coast Guard provides all requested documents and information to the Subcommittee without further delay,\u201d continued the senators. \u201cShould the Coast Guard continue to withhold or redact requested records, PSI will have no choice but to utilize other means to ensure compliance with congressional oversight.\u201d\n\nIn September 2023, PSI opened a bipartisan inquiry into the Coast Guard Academy\u2019s mishandling of sexual assault investigations and its failure to reveal Operation Fouled Anchor, and its associated report, to Congress or the public. The full text of the senators\u2019 initial letter to the Coast Guard is available here.\n\nThe full text of today\u2019s letter can be found here and below.\n\nDecember 19, 2023\n\nThe Honorable Admiral Linda Fagan\n\nCommandant\n\nU.S. Coast Guard\n\n2703 Martin Luther King Junior Avenue, SE\n\nWashington, D.C. 20593\n\nDear Admiral Fagan,\n\nOn September 12, 2023, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (\u201cPSI\u201d or the \u201cSubcommittee\u201d) sent you a letter as part of an inquiry into the mishandling of sexual assault and sexual harassment cases at the United States Coast Guard Academy (the \u201cAcademy\u201d), as well as the United States Coast Guard\u2019s (the \u201cCoast Guard\u201d) failure to reveal Operation Fouled Anchor, and its associated report, to Congress and the public.[1] In the three months since the Subcommittee\u2019s initial letter was sent, the Coast Guard has failed to provide critical records responsive to our request.\n\nSince launching its inquiry, PSI has received outreach from numerous survivors who have recounted their harrowing experiences of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and retaliation at the Academy and in the Coast Guard. On December 12, 2023, the Subcommittee heard from four of these individuals, who testified that the failures of Coast Guard and Academy leadership amplified the trauma of these events, in some cases leading to mental health struggles, suicide attempts, tarnished or lost relationships, or the decision to leave the Academy.[2] It is clear from this testimony, and the Subcommittee\u2019s inquiry to date, that the Coast Guard\u2019s culture of cover-up has allowed sexual assault and sexual harassment to persist for decades, both at the Academy and in the Coast Guard. It is equally apparent that accountability and systematic change at both the Coast Guard and the Academy are necessary to address past failures and to ensure that future cadets are protected. Full compliance with the Subcommittee\u2019s inquiry is a necessary component of these actions.\n\nYou have expressed a commitment to investigate reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, hold perpetrators accountable, support victims, and be fully transparent with Congress and the American people.[3] It is imperative that you live up to that commitment and ensure that the Coast Guard provides all requested documents and information to the Subcommittee without further delay. Should the Coast Guard continue to withhold or redact requested records, PSI will have no choice but to utilize other means to ensure compliance with congressional oversight. Please provide all records, without redactions, that are responsive to our requests, including but not limited to unredacted email records related to the decision of whether to disclose Operation Fouled Anchor to Congress and all other items identified in Enclosure A. To ensure that the Subcommittee\u2019s inquiry can continue without further delay, all requested information should be produced by no later than January 19, 2024. Thank you for your attention to this matter.\n\nSincerely,\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "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://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/permanent-subcommittee-on-investigations-demands-swift-response-to-inquiry-into-sexual-assault-and-sexual-harassment-at-the-coast-guard-academy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9958399459719658, "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"}