Military Justice Reform - May 21, 2014

I stand here disappointed and heartbroken today as an American and as a soldier because Congress has missed an opportunity to stand up and fight for our troops, especially those who have been victims and survivors of violent sexual crimes that have occurred within our ranks.

These are the less than 1 percent of people in our country who have voluntarily put their lives on the line for us, yet what are we doing for them? It’s our responsibility to hear the voices coming from within the ranks of our uniformed services and to let them know that we have their back.

The House this week had a chance to finally take action on a bipartisan effort to remove the chain of command from the decision-making process to prosecute a violent sexual assault, but this legislation was blocked from even getting and up or down vote on the House floor. This fight for justice is far from over because we will keep pushing for meaningful change that best serves our men and women in uniform, ensuring them justice and honoring their selfless service to our country.

Speech from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEhMHiakmt0.