Ted Cruz and Rand Paul support Gilibrand’s proposal–Coverage Compilation
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s proposal received a much needed push when Sen.Ted Cruz and Sen Rand Paul pledged their support. They have joined a bi-partisan coalition including Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) at a press conference in the U.S. Capitol to discuss the Military Justice Improvement Act, to combat sexual assault in the military.
Politico–Rare bipartisan moment over military sexual assault
Military sexual assault brought political polar opposites together in the Senate Tuesday. At a joint press conference one floor above the Senate chamber, while lawmakers considered killing the filibuster, Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz united with Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Barbara Boxer on a controversial plan to remove the chain of command from major military criminal cases.
It was a rare moment of bipartisanship — and a dash of presidential politicking — as the senators took turns at the microphone trumpeting the need to upend the Pentagon’s status quo and help increase reporting and prosecution of sexual assaults where victims often stay silent for fear of retaliation.
Politico–Rand Paul, Ted Cruz set off GOP scramble on sex assault:
GOP lawmakers said they planned to quickly schedule a closed-door conference meeting to hear out the two tea party firebrands on their decision to cosponsor legislation removing the chain of command from military prosecutions, a measure the Pentagon opposes. Republican leaders also will give Sen. Kelly Ayotte the floor at the meeting to explain an alternative approach adopted last month by the Armed Services Committee. The alternative also aims to reduce the number of unreported sexual assault cases – estimated around 23,000 last year – without stripping commanders of their authority to convene a court martial.
Military commanders have clearly failed to address sexual assault among the ranks. We’ve become familiar with stories about suffering in the military—veterans afflicted with post-traumatic stress, an alarming rise in suicides among soldiers, heroes who’ve lost limbs in battle trying to make their lives whole again. But Gillibrand and Rep. Jackie Speier in the House have refocused attention on the horrific amount of sexual violence against women military personnel. There are over 200,000 active-duty women serving in the armed forces, or about 15 percent of the force. According to a 2011 study, one out of five of them are sexually assaulted during their careers. (The figures are grim, too, when it comes to men: in 2012, the Department of Defense reported around 53 percent of victims of sexual assault were men.)
Gillibrand’s plan is opposed by most Republicans and some Democrats, including Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Pentagon leaders say they fear it would weaken the chain of command.
Paul and Cruz, favorites of the conservative Tea Party movement, said they were concerned by how few military victims reported sexual assaults.
“I see no reason why conservatives shouldn’t support this. The only thing I think standing in the way is just sort of the status quo,” Paul said at a news conference.
Politico–Rand Paul, Ted Cruz join Kirsten Gillibrand push on military sexual assault
Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have joined an upstart effort to remove the chain of command from military sexual assault cases, POLITICO has learned.
The tea party favorites give the bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, critical conservative cover as she battles the Pentagon and hawks in both parties on her proposal to create a new prosecution system for major military crimes.
Politico–Kirsten Gillibrand’s slow climb to 51 votes:
On Friday, her staff made a big change to the chart – and to Gillibrand’s momentum: They moved Sen. Rand Paul’s name from the “maybe” category into the “yes” column.
It was a celebratory moment for the New York Democrat in her quest to remove sexual assault cases from the military chain of command — inching her even closer to the 51 votes she believes she needs to force the biggest change to the modern-day military justice system since its creation in 1950.
“My goal is to physically approach everyone,” Gillibrand said of her strategy in a recent interview with POLITICO. According to the whiteboard hanging in her office, adding Paul gets her within 10 votes of a simple majority.
“Our carefully crafted common sense proposal was written in direct response to what the victims told us, the stories that came from them, what happened to them, the fact that they didn’t trust the chain of command, that they were retaliated against, that they didn’t think justice was possible,” Gillibrand said at a Capitol Hill event.
The proposed law comes after a spike in sexual assault cases in the armed forces, which has prompted President Barack Obama and top military brass to vow change. A report Monday from a government watchdog found that in many cases the military did not properly investigate sexual assault claims.
“Take the Pledge” campaign on Causes.com:
Today, Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz joined with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Barbara Boxer and others in support of legislation that would create an independent and impartial justice system for military sexual assault cases and other serious crimes.
Senators Paul and Cruz join a growing bipartisan coalition in support of the Military Justice Improvement Act and fundamental reform to protect our men and women in uniform.
