mrs. gillibrand: mr.sident, i rise again to call for this entire body to vote and consider the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act. this commonsense reform would ensure that people in the u.s. military who have been subjected to sexual assault and other serious crimes get the justice that they deserve. i began calling for the full floor vote on this bill on may 24. that was 24 days ago. since then an estimated 1,344 service members will have been raped or sexually assaulted. two and three of those survivors will not even report it because they know that they are more likely to face retaliation than receive justice. this is a scourge that we have been looking at for over eight years. we've passed nearly 250 measures to address sexual assault in the military, to address retaliation, to address prevention, and none of them have dented the numbers. in fact, our estimated cases is about 20,000 cases, and among those only about 200 have gone to courts-martial and ended in conviction. it's

mrs. gillibrand: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i rise for the 14th time to call for every senator to have the opportunity to consider and cast their vote on the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act which would ensure that service members who have been subject to sexual assault and other serious crimes get the justice they deserve. for nearly a decade, the d.o.d. has argued that removing convening authority from command as our bill does would undermine military readiness and good order and discipline. but yesterday our secretary of defense, secretary lloyd austin, endorsed the independent review commission's recommendation that sexual assault and related crimes be moved from the chain of command to trained military prosecutors. it is historic. it's historic that we have for the first time ever a secretary of defense agreeing that good order and discipline does not rest on a commander deciding whether a case goes forward or not. but we have to remember that the limited changes he's endorsed come from

mrs. gillibrand: madam president. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mrs. gillibrand: i respect the chairman and his need to carefully review this legislation. but we've been reviewing this legislation for eight years. and we have been having hearings on this legislation and the issue of sexual assault in the military for eight years. we've been passing legislation through the committee for eight years. but this vote has been denied every time. in fact, when don't ask, don't tell repeal was being filibustered by the armed services committee chairman and other members of that committee, we ultimately took that vote to the senate floor. it was an up-or-down vote to repeal don't ask, don't tell. in this case the committee has been considering this thoroughly and carefully for eight years. and even if the chairman believes that he hasn't fully vetted it or reviewed it or have the careful consideration, many of the members of the committee have. we've been diligently looking at this issue for eight straight years. it is time to bring this to the floor. i am confi

mrs. gillibrand: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. ibrand: i rise today for the 13th time to call for every senator to have the opportunity to vote on a commonsense bipartisan bill, the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act. this bill would ensure that members of our military would get the justice and the justice system that their sacrifices deserve. we do not have time to delay. i've begun calling for a floor vote on this bill since may 24. that's 29 days ago. since then, it's estimated that 1,624 service members will have been raped or sexually assaulted. more will have been victims of other serious crimes, and many of them will feel that there's no point in even reporting the crime because they have no faith in the current military justice system. that's because right now, if a service member reports a crime, the case and their fate will be put into a commander's hand. this bill argues instead that our service members who are victims of serious crimes or who are accused of serious crimes should have those cases

mrs. gillibrand: mr. president, i rise for the 15th time today to call for every senator to have the opportunity to consider and cast their vote for the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act. this bill would move serious crimes like sexual assault out of the chain of command and put them in the hands of the most capable people in the military -- independent, impartial, highly trained prosecutors. i began calling for the full floor vote on may 25. that was about a month ago. in that month, an estimated 1,36 service members have -- 1,736 service members have been been raped or sexually assaulted. many will not report the crimes because they lack faith in the system. and yet this vote continues to be delayed and denied day after day, week after week. i've heard opponents of this bill argue that we can't make this change because the military lacks the lawyers necessary to carry out the work. today i would like to address this one unfounded claim. let's look at the numbers. the navy, for e

mrs. gillibrand: mr. president, i have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mrs. gillibrand: mr. president, i rise for the seventh time to call for this entire body to have the opportunity to consider and cast their vote for the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act. this commonsense reform would ensure that people in the military who have been subjected to sexual assault or other serious crimes get the justice they deserve. in the eight years that i've spent advocating for this reform with many other senators, i've heard some criticism from those who would rather not see change to our military justice system. i want to take this time to briefly respond to a few of those criticisms. first, i've heard that the bill will add bureaucracy to the process. the fact is this bill actually cuts red tape. instead of needing to find time on a commander's busy sch

mrs. gillibrand: mr. president. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined with the majority leader, in consultation the minority leader, the senate armed services committee be discharged from s. 1520, that there be two hours for debate equally divided in usual form and upon use or yielding back of the time the senate vote. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reed: reserving the right to object. i object for the rosen i previously stated. i want to thank her for the courtesy of presenting the unanimous consent immediately. i appreciate that very much. i'm the first chairman to endorse the type of changes the senator from new york has proposed as they are under the ucmj. the base mark of the defense bill next month subject to amendment. i anticipate numerous amendments being offered by members on both sides of the aisle. further, as i've already committed, the committee will consider these proposals to include a vote on them in committee if that is what any senato

mrs. gillibrand: as you heard from the chairman of the committee, he only intends on taking one crime out of the chain of command, and that's sexual assault. and the reason why that is so problematic is, number one, it will continue to undermine women in the military, marginalize them and isolate them, creating a pink court that all legal experts have agreed would be highly ineffective and would harm the military justice system. second, our allies have already made this move. they've taken all serious crimes out of the chain of command and given to trained military prosecutors. in the u.k., israel, germany, netherlands and australia. they did it specifically for defendants' rights. and we have a similar problem in this country because right now we have a great deal of racial bias in who gets punished. if you are black or brown in the u.s. military today, you are 2.5 times more likely to be punished and most commanders are white commanders. there's further data that shows most black and brown service members have either experienced or witnessed racism within the ranks. so if we want to fix

mrs. gillibrand: mr.resident, i rise to ask that the senate be given the chance to consider and vote on the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act. before i discuss the bill, i'd like to first acknowledge that we've just returned from memorial day recess and to recognize the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and to protect our freedom. they got on a plane or they got on a ship, they went to countries they may never have been to before, they fought for our country, and they didn't come home. we ask so much of our service members and their families, and we owe it to them to take action when they are in danger. that is why i want to talk about this bill right now. sexual assault of the military is an epidemic. year after year reports of sexual assault have gone up, but conviction rates and prosecution rates have actually come down. this stems from a fundamental problem which has to be addressed. there is bias in our military justice system. right now if

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator gillibrand. now let me recognize senator fisher, please. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome gentlemen. i too want to thank you for your patriotism, your years of service and your years and years of caring for those who serve with you in protecting this nation. secretary austin, i appreciate the way the budget is prioritized nuclear modernization and kept important programs like gbsd, lrso and the columbia class submarine on track. i'm also happy to see it invests in nc-3 and finally begin moving forward on replacing the e-4b with survivable air force center. you talked about the need for our nuclear postture and modernization programs. has the department begun a formal review and when do you expect it to be complete? >> we have not begun that review yet, senator. but it will begin very shortly and it will take us several months to conduct the review. >> i think that review process is so very important. the systems are the most important military capabilities that we possess. and decisions about o

gillibrand: thank you, mr. chairman and i'm sorry to have not been present for my introduction. i was unaware of the timing. i apologize. i want to thank everyone for the countless hours, dedication and work for the work we -- and work we have done to lift out the voices of our alzheimer's community. i want to thank the caregivers for their countless hours, dedication and mental and physical toll they have given because as caregivers, they give so much. according to the alzheimer's association, nearly 83% of the help provided to older adults in the united states comes from philly members, friends and unpaid caregivers. while caring for a loved one with alzheimer's is rewarding in its own right, it can also be stressful bring physical and mental challenges and health challenges for caregivers who are often overlooked and they are not overdressed -- they are not addressed. ms. montanez, thank you for sharing your story. as a caregiver, what has been your biggest challenge in addressing and facilitating care for your loved one and are there support services or resources you wish yo

gillibrand. >> thank you mr. chairman and mr. ranking member.new york is a very high demand for increasing processing capacity at small facilities and farmers are slaughtering several months are over year to fans. on monday usda announced effectuating this grant program is small and medium-sized transitions and i'm hopeful this program will meet the processing facilities in new york. mr. tonsor with the consolidation processes doesn't decrease buyers and processing options as well as increase opportunity for market disruptions if one facility goes off-line? outside the aforementioned grant program what other options made further expirations to make -- >> they arele as a whole host of governmental discussions around subsidizing grants increasing access to credit and the like. fails all have a part -- place there. i don't think it's in my wheelhouse to advocate for one of those are not. the point is you have a lot of decided interest in that in anybody like that can listen to that. >> thank you. dr. hendrickson in your testimony you touched on the

gillibrand. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. ranking member. in new york there's a very high demand for increasing processing capacity at small facility and farmers often booking slaughter dates so much for over a year in advance. on monday usda announced the new meat and poultry inspection readiness grant program to assist small and medium-sized transition to usda ssi ssi inspection. i'm hopeful this program will meet the processing, the needs of the processing facility in new york. with a consolidation in processors, this has led to decreased to buy some processing auctions as well as increase opportunities for market disruption if this one facility goes off-line. outside of the aforementioned grant program what other options need further exploration to increase capacity at small facilities? >> so there's a whole host of governmental discussions around subsidizing grants, increasing access to credit and the like. those all have a place. i don't think it's in my wheelhouse to advocate for one of those or not. i think just at the point in time

mrs. gillibrand: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: mr. president, i have 13 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mrs. gillibrand: mr. president, i rise for the sixth time today to call for this entire body to have the opportunity to consider and cast their votes on the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act. this commonsense reform would ensure that people in the military who are subjected to sexual assault and other serious crimes have the opportunity to get the justice that they deserve. under the current system, less than one in ten sexual assault cases that are considered for command action are sent to trial. and under the current culture, nearly two in three sexual assault survivors experience

mrs. gillibrand: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i request that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: the senate is not in a quorum call. mrs. gillibrand: thank you, madam president. i rise for the eighth time to call this entire body to have the opportunity to vote and consider the military justice improvement and increasing prevention act. this commonsense reform would ensure that people in the military who have been subjected to sexual assault and other serious crimes get the justice they deserve. i ask for this vote because i want to ensure that this important reform, which is backed by a bipartisan filibuster-proof majority of the senators becomes law. if we leave this debate and this reform to the national defense authorization committee review, i have no doubts that that will not happen. we all know how a bill becomes a law. it passes the senate and the house and is signed by the president. and we all know how this process can be subverted. we have seen popular provisions that have passed both the hou