i want to thank senator gillibrand. it is quite clear as senator reed said, without her leadership we would not be having these discussions on the floor of the united states senate today and i applaud her for that. madam president, if i could ask that the remainder of my comments be separated in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: madam president, we are now dealing with the ndaa bill, the national defense authorization act. it's our opportunity as a senate to weigh in on one of the primary roles of government, the security of our country, how we can support our men and women in our military service, make sure they have the best equipment and the best support, and live up to our commitments to our veterans when they return to civilian life. it's very -- it's an awesome responsibility and i know each of us in our own capacities need to rely on outside help in order to be able to carry out this responsibility. we have staff. in my case, i've been blessed to have a detailee from the department

supporting gillibrand. and i am going to say here if the minority of the united states senate stops us today we are going nowhere. we just had a press conference yesterday where we reveals its new republican on our team. today and new democrat. we want to have the best soldiers in the world. we want our commanders concentrating on what they have to concentrate on. we have men and women being assaulted and we have a plan in front of a senate and that plan is the gillibrand amendment. it is smart, it has strong bipartisan support, believe me, i was at a press conference with senator grassley, senator ted cruz, senator paul, senator gillibrand, and i have to tell you, our group is growing so if a minority of the united states senate stops this, i will hearken back to the many reforms that have been made, whether it is don't ask don't tell, gays in the military, you name it, and it may take us a time or two. i had an amendment that lost that said you can't take convicted felons in to the military if they convic

gillibrand, i have mrs. gillibrand: i have a statement that, we made significant changes to address those technical concerns and i have a full analysis and description of them aid like to appear in the record. the presiding officer: is there objection? so ordered. mrs. gillibrand: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware is recognized. mr. coons: i ask unanimous consent proceedings under quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. coons: i come to the floor today to speak on the tragedy on the ongoing crisis of sexual assault in our armed forces and what i believe we must do. there are several options before us each of which have been the subject of lengthy and passionate debate, a debate that i think is healthy and needed and welcome in this chamber. i commend my many colleagues, chairman levin and senator inhofe, senator mccaskill and

senator gillibrand talked about our allies. i am grateful that we have their experience, because we can look and see what happened. our allies have done this, and not in one instance has reporting gone up. we know this is not the silver bullet because if it were, you would have seen an increase in reporting in all the countries that have adopted this system, and we know the response systems panel that was put in place by the armed services committee to recommend to the pentagon changes in this area, we know they have formally acknowledged that our allies, many of whom did this to protect defendants' rights, have not seen an increase in reporting. and if the theory is that reporting can only go up if we do this, then why are we seeing a spike in reporting right now? 46% increase just this year over last year. that is because some of the military are already putting in the reforms that we are codifying in the underlying bill. they are giving victims their own lawyers. they are ramping up the protection and information and deferen

new york's kirsten gillibrand. >> if you do not create a system outside of the chain of command your hope to report so we can weigh the evidence to see whether we can go to trial , it's not there. the hope isn't there. the confidence in an objective review of someone who doesn't know the perpetrator, doesn't know the victim doesn't exist . >> reporter: gillibrand seeks to remove the chain of command. >> you can't train your way out of this problem. there are 23,000 command climates that were not strong enough, that didn't insure justice, that created fear of retaliation. that's the problem. without creating transparency and accountability, without saying the decider doesn't know the victim or the perpetrator, there is no bias. the senator's bill has the support of many democrats and a significant number of republicans are on board as well in opposition and saying that gillibrand's reforms going too far are a number of key democrats whose votes are critical in this, senator claire mmccaskill of missouri. >> we'll be creating more problems than we're solving if we break the chain of co

new york's kirsten gillibrand. >> if you do not create a system outside of the chain of command your hope to report so we can weigh the evidence to see whether we can go to trial, it's not there. the hope isn't there. the confidence in an objective review of someone who doesn't know the perpetrator, doesn't know the victim doesn't exist. >> reporter: gillibrand seeks to remove the chain of command. >> you can't train your way out of this problem. there are 23,000 command climates that were not strong enough, that didn't insure justice, that created fear of retaliation. that's the problem. without creating transparency and accountability, without saying the decider doesn't know the victim or the perpetrator, there is no bias. the senator's bill has the support of many democrats and a significant number of republicans are on board as well in opposition and saying that gillibrand's reforms going too far are a number of key democrats whose votes are critical in this, senator claire mmccaskill of missouri. >> we'll be creating more problems than we're solving if we break the chain of comm

those are gaining more momentum than the gillibrand momen momen. >> what has the votes? >> right now it's at 52. senator gillibrand needs 60 votes to take it to the full senate, and senator mccaskill, who is not supporting in measure is a former prosecutor, and another former proper, heidi heitkamp is supporting the amendment. >> libby casey, thank you very much. taking a look at your business headlines minutes of the last fed meeting taking its toll on wall street, blue chips turning south after the release of those minutes. some policymakers saying in the economy improved they might consider cutting back on the stimmous programs. >>> retail sales in october soaring .4 of a percent. and the gains suggest spending may accelerate during the shopping season. >>> shoppers enjoying low prices last month. inflation fell a surprising .1 of a percent. and inflation is up 1%, that's the smallest increase in four years. >>> the king of rock under new management. rights to elvis presley's work has been sold to authentic brands group. including his music library, memorabilia and op

this is the advertisement for the gillibrand amendment. she says -- "a judge advocate outside the chain of command will be looking at a case through a different lens than a military commander. i believe, she says, the impact would be decisions based on evidence." can you believe this? i believe, she says, the impact would be decisions based on the evidence. i ask rhetorically -- isn't that what justice is about, decisions based on the evidence? she goes on to say instead of preserving good order and discipline. well, i would argue, a, you base these decisions on the evidence, and b, i would argue there's no good order in discipline when you have 26,000 cases a year reported -- 26,000 cases of these sexual assaults happening, and only 10% reported. what kind of order is that? you've got thousands of perpetrators running around the military, and you have got thousands of victims scared to death, brokenhearted, broken down, broken spirit. and how do senators actually stand up here and say we're going to just keep it the way it is? we're going

one from kirsten gillibrand, and one from claire mccaskill. both have bipart stan support, but not enough to beat a filibuster. >> amy iering, the producer of "the invisible war" joins u and from san francisco, ceristine pelosi. the chair. women's party. >> why is it divisive to remove the charges from the military and put in an independent arena? >> the conduct of the rapist - let's me clear where the decision is coming from. people are committing crimes, we have to do something about it. kirsten gillibrand's amendment is the one that would put merc on a par with allies, including great britain, australia and israel saying for felony crimes and nonmilitary, put it in the hands of what we americans would consider to be a police department's internal affairs bureau and let the commanders continue the good for discipline, knowing that the crime will be prosecuted by specialists in the field of sexual assault. >> on the other hand claire mccaskill's plan gives the decision to prosecute within the chain of command but adds a review board. is that

and that is why i've decided to support senator gillibrand's amendment to this bill. this was not an easy decision, as there are valid arguments on both sides. but senator gillibrand's amendment takes aim squarely at the problem of victims failing to report sexual assaults. in my judgment, her amendment will encourage more victims to report sexual assaults. and that is absolutely critical. there can be no question, mr. president, about the senate's commitment to reducing the instances of sexual assault in the military and to providing appropriate care for survivors. as we debate various proposals, we are united by the need for the serious reforms that are included already in this bill and that will enhance the military's response to sexual assault. and i want to thank all of those on the armed services committee, particularly the two leaders, and senator mccaskill and senator gillibrand for their excellent work. i am certain that our work on the ndaa will make a real difference in reducing unnecessary suffering, injury, and injustice. thank you, mr. president. ms. ayo

gillibrand's bill would turn the investigation over to prosecutors instead of commanders. she is expected to speak on the senate floor today and a vote is coming this week. >> they must create an independent, unbiased, military justice system that is deserving of the sacrifice that the men and women in the armed services make every single day. >> the question of how to prosecute sexual assaults in the military has deeply divided the senate, pitting senator claire mccaskill against gillibrand. mccaskill is offering her own bill to make changes to the process but keeping commanders involved. >> i would be less than candid if i didn't say it has been frustrating to have one policy difference dominate the discussion of this issue over the previous few weeks without anyone even realizing the historic reforms that are contained in this bill. >> the american people appear to be with gillibrand, according to the abc/washington post poll. 59% supporting independent prosecution. i want to bring in our company, politico senior congressional reporter manu raju and molly ball is the at

and that is why i have decided to support senator gillibrand's amendment to this bill. this was not an easy decision as there are valid arguments on both sides. but senator gillibrand's amendment takes aim squarely at the problem of victims failing to report sexual assaults. in my judgment, her amendment will encourage victims to report sexual assault, and that is absolutely critical. there can be no question, mr. president, about the senate's commitment to reducing the instances of sexual assault this the military and to providing appropriate care for survivors. as we debate various proposals, we are united by the need for the serious reforms that are included already in this bill and that will enhance the military's response to sexual assault. and i want to thank all of those on the armed services committee, particularly the two leaders and senator mccaskill and senator gillibrand, for their excellent work. i am certain that our work on the ndaa will make a real difference in reducing unnecessary suffering, injury and injustice. thank you, mr. president. >> mr. presid

senator kirsten gillibrand of new york insists that needs to change. she told "to the contrary" when current policies don't do enough to protect working women the entire economy suffers. >> i'm introducing legislation called the family act. and it's quite simple. it provides for paid family medical leave for all employees that is a safety net that is invested in by all employees over their lifetimes. for less than a cup of coffee a week they will provide money into a savings account that will then be used when they need to take their leave. >> gillibrand plans to introduce the family and medical insurance leave act or family act this month as part of her five-point american opportunity agenda. her plan to empower working families and strengthen the middle class includes paid family and medical leave, affordable day care, universal pre-k, equal pay for equal work and raising the minimum wage. >> these are things so common sense and they help women and men and our whole middle class thrive because their families are cared for a new mother has time with h

why hasn't the pentagon tried to beat senators like gillibrand to the punch? certainly they don't want the fate to be in the hands of what congress does or does not do to them? have they been trying to defuse this issue? >> they certainly have put in new measures and the pentagon is trying to be proactive on this. can i just go back to the picture on the hill? all male senior leaders. the optics of that say so much of that about the senior leadership of the military in general. i think that's why you have so much pushback from someone like senator gillibrand, too, who says basically, you don't get it. to me one fundamental problem here, though, they have horrible data. the 26,000 number of sexual assaults could really be anything from a pat on the rear end to rape. they've got to get better data. gwen: and yet has support from people like senator cruz and senator paul all across the board. it's not just a women's issue or a democratic issue either. >> it can't just be a women's issue or they'll never solve it. gwen: that's a nice point of view but not wrong. t

one from kirsten gillibrand, and one from claire mccaskill. both have bipart stan support, filibuster. >> amy iering, the producer of "the invisible war" joins u and from san francisco, ceristine pelosi. the chair. women's party. >> why is it divisive to remove the charges from the military and put in an independent arena? >> the conduct of the rapist - let's me clear where the decision is coming from. people are committing crimes, we have to do something about it. kirsten gillibrand's amendment is the one that would put merc on a par with allies, including great britain, australia and israel saying for felony crimes and nonmilitary, put it in the hands of what we americans would consider to be a police department's internal affairs bureau and let the commanders continue the good for discipline, knowing that the crime will be prosecuted by specialists in the field of sexual assault. >> on the other hand claire mccaskill's plan gives the decision to prosecute within the chain of command but adds a review board. is that enough? >> no, it's not.

senator gillibrand told the story of one marine who has come from colorado to washington to share her personal story. >> sarah's story is extremely disturbing. she was raped as a young marine in 2003. she said i knew the military was notorious for mishandling rape cases so i didn't dare think anything good would come from reporting the rape. having someone in your direct chain of command doesn't make any sense it's like being raped by your brother and having your dad decide the case. >> now senator claire mccaskill of missouri says this is a big problem and has proposed a couple of steps. she doesn't however want to take it out of the chain of commanding. >> just like there is not agreement among all of the women in this chamber, there is not agreement among all of the victims. there is not agreement among all of the veterans or commanders. although most women commanders have acknowledged that even though this sounds simple, it is much more complicated, and we will be creating more problems than we will be solving if we make the change advocated by senator gillibrand. >> her proposals

that's what senator gillibrand is fighting for. not in the hierarchy not in the structure. a lot of push back from the senate armed services committee. hearing a lot from the pent gon, senator john mccain. >> i say it as passionately as to my colleagues, that if we do not trust the commanding officers who take our young men and women to battle our most precious asset, if we don't trust them we obviously had better reevaluate our entire structure of the military. >> now, john, another republican, lisa merkowski from the red state of alaska, a very promilitary state, just she said she heard too many cases that were just not followed up on. >> there are many, many commanders, we all know that. and while our code of justice, our code of military justice, may be uniform, i think that we're seeing strong evidence that its implementation is anything but uniform. >> now, the latest on this john is the gillibrand amendment did not get through the senate today, it would have needed more support, 62 senators stood up and said, i do agree with what the nature is trying to do. no moveme

>> i would say that a vote against senator gillibrand's bill is a bad political move. i think the american people are watching. >> do you think that we're going to see broader institutional reforms inside the pentagon if this legislation passes? and if it doesn't pass is there hope that something changes other than this legislative solution or is this it? >> there are always other solutions, there is no silver bullet. but at a minimum we have to make sure that the military criminal justice system is as unbiassed and impartial as it can be. and right now we're not close to that with the current system we have. so we need to make sure the people qualified to make decisions are actually qualified, not commanders. so once we start, yes, we can work on the large scale reforms that we need everybody to work on with us. some of that includes civil lawsuits. some of us don't have the access to sue the government for damages, victims have that very important deterrent available to them. we need that for service members, as well. but that is the next step. >> when a sitting gene

gillibrand: thank you. i had the privilege of listening to my colleagues, senator hirono and senator blumenthal who have been addressing this issue of sexual assault in the military, and both of them said so persuasively and articulately that our military justice system is broken because the sense of trust that a man or woman who is serving in the military today who is subject to rape and sexual assault has been broken not just between them and the assailant in their unit, but between them and their commanders, that in fact that trust that the commander will have their back, that they will have these crimes be investigated and their perpetrators will be brought to justice has been broken. even general amos, commandant of the marines, said so. he said, i can see why a female marine might not report a case of sexual assault. they don't trust us. she doesn't trust the chain of command. this is our challenge, and we have to reform the system because these are some of the best men and women in the world that mak

. >> back now with senator gillibrand. you heard in jeff zeleny's report, you're shy of those 60 votes. >> i think we'll get them, martha, this is a growing debate all around this country because we want to make sure that the men and women who serve our military have a justice system deserving of their sacrifices. they're literally giving their lives for our values and our country. they need justice and that's what we're trying to do. >> one of the things that you told your hometown paper, i think it was in today's paper, was that you would consider taking parts of the legislation out for other serious crimes, murder and theft, are you going to do that or are you going to stick to the original plan? >> no, we're going to stick to the original plan because it's a better bill. it's an interesting pros is. what we learned is, having the bright line of elevating of all serious crimes out of chain of command, makes both victims' rights are protected. for civil liberties reasons. you need fairness and justice. what we got 26,000

under senator gillibrand's proposal because in senator gillibrand's proposal when the lawyer says no it's over. whereas in our proposal, if this were to ever happen even though we know this is not a problem now, we have review after review after review. no one is going to be able to turn a victim away from her day of justice without accountability, checks and balances and oversight. and there will be a difference in that unit because now retaliation is a crime in the commander is going to be evaluated. on how they are handling this issue within their command. there are also practical problems in some of my colleagues will come to the floor today and talk about this but there are a number of implementation issues that i don't think have fallen through and this is real world here. we are talking about appeals and challenges. we are talking about not even having enough colonels right now to staff this. we are talking about risking the ability to get a speedy trial. we are talking about eliminating the ability to plea bargain and let me just tell you mr. president having handled these ca

senator kirsten gillibrand has support from nearly half the senate. but her proposal is stalled. the pentagon opposes the plan. opponents insist that commanders, not an outside military lawyer, must be accountable in such cases. the senate is expected to take up the bill this week. >> >> it has only been on the market for a couple of days but already, sony is reporting that they have sold more than 1 million of the new place station 4 a game consoles. the ps 4 went on sale friday and the united states and canada. sony says that it expects to sell 5 million of them by the end of march next year.

democrats think very highly of kirsten gillibrand, the way she has worked so hard behind the scenes and worked across the aisle to persuade people to support her approach to this. she's refused to give in or to compromise with the other approach that was offered, and she's really drawn support from a lot of unexpected quarters. i think with senator reid offering his support now, that's a big deal and that could potentially move some votes into her column as well. >> manu, as you know not taking sides is the white house. jay carney wouldn't say which bill the president supports. considering the armed services chairman, carl levin and claire mccaskill are pushing their plan, how do you think this plays out? >> i don't think it's going to pass. she's going to need 60 votes. even if she does get 60 votes, getting that through a house senate conference committee is extremely grim. given the opposition from a lot of the defense hawks, from the pentagon to her proposal, there probably will be some changes to how the military prosecutes

so far the white house has not taken a position on the gillibrand amendment. anne-marie? >> susan mcginnen in washington. thank you. >>> senator creigh deeds is apparently i tical condition after being stabbed by his son. he was stabbed in his head and chest. his 24-year-old son gus was found in their saudi arabia home yesterday dead from what's believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. the "washington post" reports gus deeds was admitted to a psychiatric hospital the day before but he was released because there were no hospital beds available. > >> there are very serious security threats. >> reporter: florida congressman trey radel is nation misdemeanor charges after being arrested on october 9. the one document released by see sue superior court in washington, d.c. he was elected last november and represents florida's gulf coast. in a statement he said, i struggle with the disease of alcoholism, and this led to an extremely irresponsible choice. in facing this charge, i realize the disappointment my family, fwren friends and constituents must feel. house speaker jo

so the gillibrand amendment, of course, is we don't trust those commanders. when we trust these young people with their lives. we ask them to have the ultimate responsibility which is that of defending this nation, but we don't trust them to prosecute, to do their job, to do their duties. .. i've had with the men and women who are in command and the senior petty officers, the master chief petty officers and the master sergeants that are responsible for the good order and discipline of our men and women in our armed forces. so i won't go into the fact that this gillibrand amendment includes things like burglary and house breaking and perjury and robbery and forgery. it's been expanded beyond belief in its areas that have to be referred out of the chain of command. i won't even bother with that. awon't even bother with that. out of the chain of command. i won't even bother without. what im am saying, and i say as passionately as i came to my colleagues, that if we do not trust the commanding officers who take our young men and women into battle, our most precio

some support kirsten gillibrand saying it should be taken out of military hands. senator mccain says it should not be. >> i say it as passionately as i can to my colleagues, if we do not trust the commanding officers who take the young men and women in to battle - if we don't trust them, then we obviously better re-evaluate our structure of the military. >> now, one of the 52 senators that supports the kirsten gillibrand amendment and wants sexual assault cases out of the an military hands is senator claire mccaskill. from alaska. a military-oriented state. >> there are many commanders, our code of military justice may be uniform. i think we are seeing strong evidence that its implementation is anything but uniform. >> despite senator claire mccaskill's and support for the kirsten gillibrand amendment it did not get anywhere on the senate floor. the pentagon has pushed back, instead top brass are supporting efforts by senator claire mccaskill, democrat of missouri, atting in layers of oversight but not taking them outside the chain of command. one thing that senat

senator gillibrand from new york state has led the charge on an amendment that she says is necessary. what it would do is take these cases out of the chain of command. it would be independent military professionals who hand it will. she told the story of a woman who was a marine, she came from colorado to d.c. to share her very personal story. >> sarah's story is truly disturbing. she was raped as a young marine in 2003. she said, i knew the military was notorious for mishandling rape cases, so i didn't dare think that anything good could come from reporting the rape. having someone in your direct command its like being raped by your brother and your father handles the case. >> it's to hold them accountable and hold that fabric intact. they're not backing the proposal by senator jil gillibrand, but instead one proposed by claire mccaskill. >> this is not agreement even among commanders. although most women commanders have acknowledged even though this sounds seductively simple it is much more complicated, and we will create more troubles than we will be solving if we make the change t

gillibrand: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: i ask unanimous consent to speak as long as the time for with the i consume. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: mr. president, i rise today to talk about an amendment that i plan to introduce to the national defense authorization act next week. this is an amendment known as the bipartisan military justice improvement act. now, i want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the leadership in this effort. as we've said from the beginning, this is not a democratic idea or a republican idea, it's good, plain-old common sense. it's the right idea that is necessary to protect the men and women who fight for our country and our values in uniform every single day so i want to thank the broad coalition of supporters for their leadership, former generals and command

they don't want to see gillibrand's bill to pass. they want to make sure that military leaders are held accountable, but gillibrand has been pushing back against that. she has a coalition of senators and it's not all democrats or republicans on one side or the other. she has got people like senator ted cruz, more liberal members. it's splitting up among interesting lines. >> libby casey on capitol hill for us. >>> people in the midwest are spending another day sifting through what was once their homes after a string of tornadoes ripped through their towns on sunday. in one small town of washington, illinois, we're on the ground there, andy, it's day two, how are people coping, and i want to know what aid is not on the way, but what aid is actually on the ground there to help folks. >> reporter: well, actually, tony, team rubicon has arrived, a non-profit group of ex-war veterans who go around to natural disasters around the country. they use technology that was used to track terrorists, they've repurposed it, and they use that techno

gillibrand's legislation would dramatically change the way the military handles these cases taking the judicial authority away from the chain of command. the top brass at the pentagon is staunchly opposed. military leaders argue they must be able to police their own ranks. >> command authority is the most critical mechanism for ensuring discipline, accountability and unit cohesion. >> reporter: gillibrand said that hasn't worked out. >> there is no accountability because the trust that any justice is possible has been irreparably broken under the current system where commanders hold all of the cards as to whether a case will move forward or not. >> reporter: arianna clay is a former marine, naval academy graduate and iraq war veteran. he say she was raped by a senior marine officer and his friend back in 2010. >> it was sanctioned from the same leaders i once would have risked my life for gillibrand's bill needs 60 votes to pass and 60 senators are on board. a vote could come up in the next three weeks. >> all right. karen travers, thank you. >>> it wasn't your usual trip to the termin

. >> reporter: new york democrat kristen gillibrand, haze the numbers give a bill she wrote new momentum. the senator wants to take decisions about prosecuting sexual assaults away from military commanders and place them in the hands of experienced military lawyers instead. >> what we know from victims is that they don't see an opportunity for justice. they see that their command may be biased against them. they may favor the perpetrator. they may favor pushing it under the rug because it makes the commander look bad. >> reporter: gillibrand brand and colleagues from the left and right teared up yesterday as rape victim ariana clay, a former marine and iraq war vet, described how her commander told her she deserved it. >> the humiliation of the retaliation of worse than the assault because it was sanctioned from the same leaders i once would have risked my life for. >> reporter: 47 senators have signed on to gillibrand's amendment, but military leaders argue the proposal would weaken the chain of command. missouri democrat claire mccaskill agrees. >> we let commanders off the hook, we ha

. >> reporter: new york democrat kristen gillibrand, says the numbers give a bill she wrote new momentum. the senator wants to take decisions about prosecuting sexual assaults away from military commanders and place them in the hands of experienced military lawyers instead. >> what we know from victims is that they don't see an opportunity for justice. they see that their command may be biased against them. they may favor the perpetrator. they may favor pushing it under the rug because it makes the commander look bad. >> reporter: gillibrand brand and colleagues from the left and right teared up yesterday as rape victim ariana clay, a former marine and iraq war vet, described how her commander told her she deserved it. >> the humiliation of the retaliation of worse than the assault because it was sanctioned from the same leaders i once would have risked my life for. >> reporter: 47 senators have signed on to gillibrand's amendment, but military leaders argue the proposal would weaken the chain of command. missouri democrat claire mccaskill agrees. >> we let commanders off the hook, we ha

we have a type ship up here but good things like senator gillibrand's amendment get cast aside because they won't allow a process of open debate and amending. >> what do you say to senator mccain on changing the rules of the u.s. military in dealing with sexual harassment or sexual assault cases? >> i have a lot of family members in the military and i don't doubt any of their motives or generals' moetdives but i think it's more fair if you've been a victim of sexual assault or rape you don't have to tell your boss about it you tell authorities about it. in the military this would be lawyers and judges that are trained in dealing with sexual assault and rape, 85% of them are going unreported. military's been given three decades to fix the problem. i don't doubt their motives but it hasn't worked. so we need to try something new. to me, if it were my daughter in the military and were a son, whoever, they were abused, they should be allowed to report this, not to their boss who may go drinking with one of the abusers, but to an independent commission that doesn't know any of parties and l

some support kirsten gillibrand say it should be taken out of the military chain of command. it should be left in the hands of the military to enforce their own codes of conduct. senator mccain on the floor today. >> i say it as passionately as i can to my colleagues, if we do not trust commanding officers who take our young men and women and battle a precious asset. if we don't trust them, we better re-evaluate our structure of the military. >> one of the 52 senators who supports the kirsten gillibrand amendment and wants sexual assault cases taken out is senator claire mccaskill, a senator of alaska. >> there are many commanders we know that. our code of military justice may be uniform. i think we are seeing strong evidence that it's implementation is anything but uniform. >> despite senator mccows ski's support it did not get anywhere on wednesday. the pentagon has pushed back mass pushed back and are supporting effort by claire mccaski mccaskill. one thing that senator claire mccaskill is proposing - making sure the commanders can no longer throw out court-martial convict

gillibrand's legislation would dramatically change the way the military handles these cases taking the judicial authority away from the chain of command. the top brass at the pentagon is staunchly opposed. military leaders argue they must be able to police their own ranks. >> command authority is the most critical mechanism for ensuring discipline, accountability and unit cohesion. >> reporter: but gillibrand says that hasn't worked out. >> there is no accountability because the trust that any justice is possible has been irreparably broken under the current system where commanders hold all the cards as to whether a case will move forward or not. >> reporter: arianna clay is a former marine, a naval academy graduate, and iraq war veteran. she says she was raped by a senior marine officer in a trend in 2010. >> the retaliation was worse than the assault because it was sanctioned from the same leaders i once would have risked my life for. >> reporter: gillibrand's bill needs 60 votes to pass and right now 46 senators are on board. john and diana, a vote could come up sometime in the next

now, i certainly look afford to supporting the gillibrand amendment, the military justice improvement act, along with the presiding officer, because it addresses chain-of-command issues that i believe can cause victims of sexual assault in the military to refrain from reporting an incident because they fear either that nothing will be done or that there will be retaliation from their commanders. but regardless of the outcome of that legislation, it is important to reflect on the provisions that are already included in this bill. because the bill before us today includes nearly 30 provisions that address sexual assault, prevention, investigation, and prosecution procedures at the department of dwents. -- at the department of defense. almost all of these provisions were grade t agreed to unanimoun the committee. strong sexual assault reforms like those included in this bill send a powerful message to all of the members of our military, including tens of thousands of victims, many of whom have been suffering quietly for decades, that what happened to them is unacceptable and it will no l

kristin gillibrand wants to get it out of the hands of the commanders. here is senator gillibrand on abc sunday explaining why. >> we want to make sure the men and women who serve our military, have a justice system deserving of their sacrifice. they are literally giving their lives for our values and country, and they should haven't pa justice system that is bias and has unfairness. >> she says her amendment would keep cases from being swept under the rug. there is a completing bill that keeps it in the chain of command. what that bill would do, is it would make it a crime to retaliate against someone who is a victim of sexual assault. it would also take it out of commander's abilities to throw out any court-martials, because right now a commander can dismiss a court-martial after someone has been convicted of sexual assault. so completing ideas. >> libby the pentagon has to implement either side which way are they leaning? >> that's right. they do not want it taken out of the hands of their commanders. the white house has not weighed in on how it shoul

senate, that really makes a difference. >> my thanks to senator gillibrand for her time this week. >>> coming up, we need an outsider. we need a game changer. we need a governor. the republican rally cry for 2016. it's wrong for so many reasons beyond the obvious and we are going to discuss it when we come back. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain, you feel...squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free. liberated. released. decongested. open for business. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up. i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'l

you put yourself on the side of kirsten gillibrand on this issue. i want to read you this, "under kirsten's scenario, those cases would not go forward. the new regime of lawyers would have all the power around these prosecutions. they would also be the last word. the missouri democrat said she had to make the case undecided lawmakers voting for our reform doesn't make you anti-woman. do you think that people that don't support the kirsten gillibrand legislation are anti-woman? that is a fair characterization? that is a bad split for the democratic party? >> i'm actually going to take your question just one step b k back. it's important for everyone to understand wherever they fall on this issue, it's not just a woman's issue. there are more men assaulted than women. this is not men versus women or anti-women this is sexual violent crimes occurring today in our military that need to be stemmed and prevented and those perpetrators brought to justice. we see two leaders in the senate, senator gillibrand and mccaskill have done tremendous work on the is

so, when you hear senator gillibrand and eyes say we knew this was coming and this was a possibility in fact a probability, now you might have been more close than i was covering it at the time but i don't remember that. do you? >> well, i am disappointed we're not leaving healthcare decisions in the hands of medical professionals. i mean, seriously do you want harry reid doing open heart surgery on you? i don't think so. i think we should be leaving this to the hands of medical doctors. we were taught in school, the first thing is, do no harm, and i think we need to leave the health and well-being of people and life and death decisions in the hands of medical doctors and physicians. and not in politicians' hands. >> three times getting letters like that. well ex-everyone remembers what happened to this president a half century ago. does anyone remember what kind of president he was long before that? ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. every

>> reporter: they think senator gillibrand's bill go too far. they're supporting senator claire mccaskill, missouri, and senator mccaskill would create more layers of checks and balances and would do one curb thing. she would take away a commander's ability to dismiss a court-martial conviction. right now a commander can do that even if someone is convicted of raping someone, but that could change. they said it has to stay in house, and that is one way to follow through on these cases. a crucial difference in senators, and they're talking about it today. we've heard from survivors of sexual assault. it's been an intense discussion one here on capitol hill, one that has a lot of people talking about this issue of sexual assault in the military. a recent report that came out from the pentagon itself showed 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact last year. of 3,000 cases of sexual assaults only 300 were prosecutorred. >> whoa, libby, appreciate it. libby casey for us on capitol hill. >>> people in the midwest are spending another day sifting throu

>> i hope we can because i agree with what senator gillibrand said and i'm a co-sponsor of her amendme amendment. finally in an institution to say they've been resistant to change is an understatement. to finally say that if a woman is serving her country that she will have the full measure of justice with no question, with no impediments and i'm afraid that unless that decision is taken out of the -- or that power is taken out of the chain of command that women will still be victimized and this is one of the ultimate betrayals when it comes to a woman serving who is victimized over and over again. not just one incident or one particular time in her life, but over and over again because the system doesn't allow her to get access to real and full justice. >> senator casey of pennsylvania, good to see you. thanks so much. >> lois, and carol, i want to ask you about what's going it happen with this and let me start with you because the senate is back in session in 20 minutes and are we going see on the gillibrand amendment and to go nuclear? >> i find this completely extraordinary given t

senator gillibrand joining us. we appreciate your time. want to start with the white house meeting your colleagues attended yesterday. voer, there's a lot of frustration among your caucus and constituents about the website. why isn't there value extending the enrollment for a limited period of time to make up for the two months lost by the problems with the site? >> well, what's important to all of america is they get access to affordable health care. we don't want to delay the access. we want to make sure the computer system gets up and running. people can buy a plan affordable and covers things. we want to make sure covered up to 2026, don't get coverage dropped because of pre-existing conditions. that's why we wan to push ahead to make sure they get the coverage they need. >> are you satisfied with the way they handled thing since the rollout? we know the rollout has been handled since the disaster. have they been upfront with people about the failures? >> i think so. the president said yesterday these are huge challenges. we will overc

creating more problems and we will be solving if we make the change as advocated by senator joe brand -- gillibrand. if they win the vote, she and the organization will get more resources. thanks. it appears that the senator has the public support as well for her legislation. of americans59% support taking sexual assault cases outside the military chain of command. that had a 3.5 margin of error. >> the state inspector general's office it -- announced it is investigating the hours leading up to a fight that led to a senator stabbed. it is the medical care his son needed that did not receive -- ist i he did not receive that receiving scrutiny. >> no word yet to whether senator deeds will be released from the medical center but his condition has improved significantly. late today, the virginia state police reporting that sheriff's deputies in bath county did report to the deeds home on monday for a non-emergency call. mental health providers are telling "the washington post" they could have stepped in but were never called. well-likedas a straight a student and band member. >> he was an awesome guy t

and that is why i have decided to support senator gillibrand's amendment to this bill. this was not an easy decision. because there are valid arguments on both sides. and this takes him squarely including sexual assaults and in my judgment it will encourage more victims to report sexual assaults. and that is absolutely critical. there can be no question, mr. president, about the senate's commitment to reducing the instances of sexual assault in the military and to providing appropriate care for survivors and as we debate various proposals, we are united by the need for the serious reforms that are included already in this bill and that will enhance the military's response to sexual assault. and i would like to thank all of those and i am certain that our work from the mda will make a real difference. >> a senator from new hampshire. >> i thank you, mr. president. and this includes bringing this to the floor today and i want to thank the senator who has seen the chamber as well and has been a leader, as well as senator claire mccaskill, who is a member of the armed servi