{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-warren-urge-immediate-action-to-protect-soldiers-after-release-of-independent-report-on-fort-hood", "Senators Markey and Warren Urge Immediate Action to Protect Soldiers after Release of Independent Report on Fort HoodRead More", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Edward Markey", "M000133", "www.markey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senators\r\ncalled for an independent investigation into Ft. Hood after the disappearance\r\nand death of Brockton native Elder Fernandes, who died near the base in August  Washington (December 8,\r\n2020)  Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), a\r\nmember of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement\r\nupon the release of the report of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee,\r\nwhich was tasked with investigating the command culture and climate at Fort\r\nHood Army Base, near Killeen, Texas. The report's executive summary reveals\r\npervasive deficiencies in the sexual harassment and assault reporting\r\nstructure, a lack of clearly outlined procedures for responding to reports of\r\nmissing soldiers, and a command culture permissive of sexual harassment and\r\nsexual assault, among other problems. As a result of the report's findings, the\r\nArmy announced today they are firing or suspending 14 Fort Hood commanders and\r\nother leaders.  The pervasive problems\r\nfound by the independent investigation into Fort Hood demonstrate a gross\r\ndisregard by Army leadership and the Command at Fort Hood for the safety and\r\nwell-being of America's soldiers, said Senators Markey and\r\nWarren. It should not have taken the deaths of dozens of men and women of\r\nour armed forces serving at Fort Hood to trigger an investigation.   While we appreciate the\r\nfindings of the independent investigation, it's been clear that the Army's\r\nleadership must be held accountable for the harm caused by allowing a climate\r\nof harassment, fear, and retaliation to take hold for so long. The Army must\r\nmake immediately clear what steps it will be taking to address the problems\r\noutlined in the report. Top Army leadership should testify before the Senate as\r\nsoon as possible, and the incoming Biden administration must continue to ensure\r\nthat the problems caused by the lack of leadership and lack of care for the\r\nsoldiers serving at Fort Hood are fully resolved.  When a young person puts\r\non the Army uniform it becomes our responsibility to keep them safe, continued\r\nthe Senators. The U.S. Army failed Sergeant Elder Fernandes, Specialist\r\nVanessa Guillen, and their families and they, like the families of all of the\r\nsoldiers who have suffered at Fort Hood, deserve justice. In\r\nSeptember, Senators Markey and Warren, and Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (MA-01)\r\ncalled\r\non the independent review panel investigating the command climate and\r\nculture at U.S. Army Base Fort Hood, Texas to include the case of Army Sergeant\r\nElder Fernandes in its review of the base. Sergeant Fernandes, a 23 year-old\r\nnative of Brockton, Massachusetts who was assigned to the 1st\r\nCavalry Division at Fort Hood, was found dead on August 25 after having gone\r\nmissing on August 17. Shortly after he was reported missing, public reports\r\nrevealed that in May of this year Sergeant Fernandes had reported a sexual\r\nassault allegation against a member of his chain of command and also became the\r\ntarget of bullying, hazing, and harassment.", 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://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-warren-urge-immediate-action-to-protect-soldiers-after-release-of-independent-report-on-fort-hood"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4589300844818354, "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"}