Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office issued the following statement last week after the Senate failed/refused to pass the Military Justice Improvement Act:
March 6, 2014
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand delivered the following remarks Thursday following the vote on the bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act, which despite having the support of a bipartisan majority of the Senate, fell five votes shy of breaking a filibuster.
Senator Gillibrand’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
I want to first thank my colleagues who stood so strong and
united in this effort from the very beginning. Your leadership truly
made the difference to gain the support of a majority of the Senate.
From the very beginning – this was never about being a Democratic idea
or a Republican idea. It was just the right thing to do – that people of
good faith from both parties could unite around.
And I want to
thank the retired Generals, former commanders and veterans of every
rank for making their voices heard – to make the military they love so
dear as strong as it can be.
And I want to especially thank
all the survivors. We owe our gratitude to the brave survivors who,
despite being betrayed by their chain of command, continue to serve
their country by fighting for a justice system that will help make sure
no one else suffers the same tragedy they did. Their struggles,
sacrifice and courage inspire me every day.
They may not wear
the uniform anymore, but they believe so strongly in these reforms that
for a full year now, they marched the halls of this Congress, reliving
the horror they endured, telling their stories, in hopes that no one
else who serves our country has to suffer as they did.
Tragically, today the Senate failed them. Despite earning the support of
the majority of the Senate, we fell five votes short of overcoming the
60-vote filibuster threshold. But we will not walk away, we will
continue to work harder than ever in the coming year to strengthen our
military.
Without a doubt, with the National Defense bill we
passed, and Senator McCaskill’s Victims Protection Act, we have taken
good steps to stand up for victims, and hold offenders accountable.
But we have not taken a step far enough. We know the deck is stacked
against victims of sexual assault in the military, and today, we saw the
same in the halls of Congress.
For two full decades, since
Dick Cheney served as the Defense Secretary during the Tailhook scandal
that shook the military and shocked the nation, we’ve heard the same
thing: “zero tolerance” to sexual assault in the military.
But the truth is in the results, and that’s “zero accountability.”
I always hoped we could do the right thing here – and
deliver a military justice system that is free from bias and conflict of
interest – a military justice system that is worthy of the brave men
and women who fight for us.
But today the Senate turned its back on a majority of its members.
As painful as today’s vote is, our struggle on behalf of the brave men
and women who serve in our military will go on. We owe so much to those
who bravely serve our country, and I will never quit on them.
For the men and women who sign up to serve our country for all the right
reasons – only to be twice betrayed by their chain of command – if they
can find the courage to make their voices heard to strengthen the
military they hold so dear– we have to keep up this fight.
We will continue to the fight for justice and accountability. That is our duty.