Members of Congress are promising public hearings into the military’s handling of sexual assault and domestic violence as they demand answers from the Pentagon on the issue.
Dozens of lawmakers are forming coalitions and drafting letters to Department of Defense officials and key congressional leaders calling for a broader investigation of the military. The leadership of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues is vowing to rally every female member of Congress in support of military reforms.
Citing stories in The Denver Post, Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., launched a bipartisan effort this week to persuade House leaders to hold full committee hearings to examine the military’s justice system and “root causes” of crimes against military women.
Slaughter called reports of female service members being raped shocking and pledged to hold public hearings through the women’s caucus if the full Congress does not pursue them.
“We cannot allow this problem to go on in the military institutions any longer,” Slaughter said. “We (the women’s caucus) can do hearings on the grounds of the Capitol and certainly have our own public testimony on these issues.”
Capito said she intended to launch “a full-court press” on the issue to every member of Congress, beginning next week.
“Recent reports have revealed a disturbing trend of sexual assault and abuse of women within the U.S. military,” a Tuesday letter from Slaughter and Capito to leaders of the House Armed Services Committee reads. “The problem is exacerbated when these attacks seem to be ignored by some within the military leadership, and when the perpetrators often go unpunished, sometimes at the discretion of their commanding officers.”
Committee chairman Duncan Hunter did not respond to interview requests Thursday.
In a separate move, another 24 lawmakers, led by Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., have written Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, requesting an internal review of existing procedures for investigating and prosecuting abuse and assault cases. They also asked for an “assessment” of victim care and support programs available to service members deployed in war zones.
On Sunday, The Post reported that at least 37 female service members have sought sexual-trauma counseling and other assistance from civilian rape-crisis organizations after returning from deployment in and around Iraq. Among some of the patterns in the cases: complaints of lax investigations, poor medical treatment and threats of punishment.
The Pentagon and White House declined Thursday to respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, lawmakers blasted the Pentagon and White House for not addressing the issue.
“No more letters saying, ‘We’re working on it,”‘ said Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., referring to previous communications from the Pentagon. “Public hearings are going to have to happen. I want to hear President Bush say that as commander in chief, he will not tolerate sexual assaults in the military on his watch.”
Doug Gordon, spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, said the Ohio representative is very concerned about the allegations raised by the newspaper and that the Department of Defense must conduct a full and expedient review of its procedures.
“The congressman believes it is essential, for the health and morale of our troops, that the Department of Defense immediately respond to this matter.”
Kucinich is the ranking member on the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, which has oversight of the Defense Department.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said the military will no longer be allowed to “sweep the issue under the rug.”
“Our military is great at winning wars. They need to be just as great at enforcing the law,” Maloney said. “Rape is a serious crime.”
Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard said he supports public hearings in the Senate but has stressed that Sen. John Warner, the committee chairman, and Saxby Chambliss, head of the personnel subcommittee, will make that decision.
|
DETAILS
|
|
|
“The senator has brought this to the attention of the Senate Armed Services Committee,” Allard spokeswoman Angela de Rocha said. “The appropriate channel is for the committee to take the next step.”
Warner and Chambliss did not respond to requests for interviews Thursday.
Momentum for public hearings has also been driven recently by victim advocacy organizations that have conducted phone campaigns and organized petitions calling for hearings.
“I think they’re going to find out the problem is so pervasive that no one’s going to know how to handle it,” said Susan Avila-Smith, a victim advocate whose clients include a female officer who was raped after being deployed to Iraq. “I think they’re going to be so horrified by what they find.”
The Post published a series of articles in November examining how the military mistreats rape and domestic violence victims and extends leniency to thousands of sex offenders. Senate leaders vowed to investigate but have stayed silent on whether they will call for public hearings other than testimony about the Air Force Academy’s sexual assault problems.
To some members of Congress, such as U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., the issues are so complex they warrant an intensive investigation.
“She believes all the issues (lack of victim services and the criminal justice system) need to be examined in a comprehensive analysis to determine whether changes are needed,” said Bridget O’Brien, a spokeswoman for Capps.
“The Defense Department has historically turned a blind eye to such offenses,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. “Whether in peacetime or in war, these actions are travesties, and conditions and policies that do not discourage and do not prosecute these sexual assaults are wholly unacceptable.”
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said she would support public hearings concerning military sexual assault for the same reason she signed the letter to Rumsfeld.
“Reports of rape and sexual assault in the armed forces are shocking,” Baldwin said. “Even more alarming are reports that investigations are either not undertaken or not taken seriously. No person serving in our armed forces should ever fear the consequences of reporting a sexual assault. This is not an issue the Pentagon can ignore.”
Other members of Congress said they were not surprised by the allegations of the mishandling of sexual assaults and domestic violence in the armed forces.
“After all, the Air Force Academy scandal erupted almost a decade after the Tailhook episode, when (Navy) Lt. Paula Coughlin was forced to walk through a ‘gantlet’ of officers who pawed her body and taunted her during a party at a convention,” said Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass.
“Obviously, whatever reforms were implemented as a result of Tailhook didn’t stop the sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy. The military needs to change the culture that allows sexual harassment and assaults, and this will require not only more aggressive enforcement of the rules but a sustained commitment to changing the attitude that women who report misconduct are the problem,” said Meehan, adding that he supports hearings on the matter. “When we ask men and women to risk their lives in Iraq and elsewhere, we owe it to them to ensure they are treated with dignity and respect.”
Amy Herdy can be reached at 303-820-1752 or aherdy@denverpost.com . Miles Moffeit can be reached at 303-820-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com
