mrs. mccaskill: mr. president would the senator yield for a question? mr. graham: yes. mrs. mccaskill: i want to make sure i understand something about nonjudicial punishment since you're on the barracks thief in afghanistan and we're going to send the case to a lawyer half a continent away to make a decision. let's assume the lawyer in washington decides there is insufficient evidence for that barracks thief that might be four months later. meanwhile the barracks thief is still there. it is my understanding and i think there is confusion about this by the people advocating this amendment that you cannot exercise nonjudicial punishment on a soldier if he chooses a court-martial proceeding. is that correct? mr. graham: that's exactly right. a nonjudicial punishment is authority the commander has to put people in confinement for up to 30 days, reduce in rank one or two levels depending on the rank of the commander and to withhold pay. it is nonjudicial punishment. you don't have a trial. the person is represented by a lawyer but there is no jury. the commander is the jury. mrs.

mrs. mccaskill: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that any time spent on quorum call during this debate on the sexual assault issue be equally divided between senator gillibrand on one side and senator ayotte and senator mccaskill on the other side. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. mccaskill: and i would yield five minutes of senator ayotte's time to the senator from missouri, senator blunt. the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. blunt: i thank senator mccaskill for yielding. i want to thank senator mc l0)caskill and senator gillibrand for the effort, time, commitment two things senator step in the right direction is a result of our committee debate o'our committee action. i think i heard the senator from new york say she was supporting the mccaskill amendment which adds even additional things to that. i also am supporting that amendment. it does a number of things that i think make the bill even stronger. it says the commanders will be evaluated based on this as one of t

mrs. mccaskill: i, too, want to thank my colleagues, senator mikulski and senator collins, for making an effort today to highlight the work that has been done on this important issue. 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, and so i welcome the opportunity to come with my colleagues, who may disagree on one policy issue but don't disagree on the goal and are taking a moment to recognize the work that has been put into this bill by not just the women of the armed services committee but also the men of the armed services committee. after hearings and some of us have spent literally hundreds of hours pouring over trial transcripts, spending time visiting with prosecutors, i think we have fashioned historic and amazing changes that are going to forever change the successful prosecution of rapists in our military and go further to protect victims. i come to this issue with a great deal of experi

kaine, feinstein, hagan, mikulski, donnelly, udall of colorado, mccaskill, coons, shaheen, warner, reed of rhode island, murray, nelson, king. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent that we now proceed to a period of morning business, senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. res. 304, 305, 306, 307 and 308. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. the senate will proceed. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table and blocked with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i'm told that s. 1752 is due for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: s. 1752, a bill to reform procedures or determinations to proceed

mccaskill, a hot, levin, et al. and and. can you let me know in 15 minutes -- thank you, sir. mr. president before we get started, i really want to thank senator levin, read, mccaskill, a hot, fisher and others have been trying to carry the burden here to make sure that we are reforming the military justice system and the way the military operates, these are the sexual assault and misconduct, but at the same time make sure that we still at a military that can continue to be the most effective fighting force on the planet at a time when the absolute immediate. if you believe as i do our military is the best in the world, you have to ask yourself why. is it because of the equipment? we have great equipment. i would argue that the reason our military has become the most effective fighting force in the world is the way we are structured. if you're looking for democracy, don't look to the military. the military as a hierarchical and paternalistic organization that is focused on meeting the challenges of the nation. being able to project force at a moments notice to deter war, and, there

mr. chairman, again, thank you for the time. >> thanks. those were tough questions. senator mccaskill. >> i think one of the most revealing things this morning is the realization that while an arrest report may be part of a background check, there is not a requirement that the underlying police report be obtained. and i tell you why this is a shocking revelation. like senator ayotte, i'm a former prosecutor, and the vast majority of cases that would review a mental disturbance will not have a disposition. the criminal justice system does a very bad job of adjudicating the mentally ill, because the mentally ill really, for a prosecutor's standpoint, if they haven't hurt anyone, putting them in prison sometimes creates more problems than it solves. so most prosecutors, when they are confronted with a mentally ill issue, like someone who says they've heard voices, someone where the police has been called to a motel room on a disturbance where someone says there's microwaves coming through the vents and someone is -- people are here to get me, they will do a police report and most of the

this with senator claire mccaskill who is here with us today and this includes the list of protected communications that can be investigated by the dod inspector general and mrs. expanded whistleblower protection that will help to ensure that service members are able to report sexual assault without facing retaliation. these are a few of the provisions addressing us in the spell. senator murray is focused on the victim's right in treating them with the respect that they deserve. our country is fortunate that we have so many selfless men and women who volunteer to serve our country and when they raise their hands to serve, we take on the responsibility to provide the means to accomplish this to ensure that they don't have to worry about what is going on behind the front line. sexual assault betrays that responsibility and our servicemen and women experience this at a military sales to prevent and we owe them the basic decency of justice. i look forward to working with my colleagues so we can protect our service members once and for all. thank you and i yield the floor. >> thank you. >> mr. president? >> senator. >> there is something pretty historic. over half

be pleased when i think the mccaskill amendment will be added to it today and we face a new view of how this issue is dealt with and i think the senator for your time. >> mrt? >> the senator from missouri. >> i want to thank senator blunt for his comments and i pursued his hard work on the armed services committee as we tackle this issue that all of us have an emotional commitment to for all of the right reasons and i wanted to hang senator gillibrand. we both want fundamental reform and we both are working as hard as we know how to get it. we have a fundamental as he meant about how best to obtain that goal and i would like to go through some of that disagreement for the next few minutes. the 26th historic reforms in the bill are going to make our military the most victim friendly criminal justice system in the world. in no other system does save the half the protection and the deference that we are creating for them in this bill. my years of experience handling these cases, hundreds of them, victims. if that victim had the confidence of independent advice that would have made a tremendous difference in the staggering number of victims that refuse to go

mr. chairman. speaker, we have just observed a moment of silence for isaac skelton. ,y good friend, emanuel cleaver ike's good friend, senator mccaskillnd others who are here from the missouri delegation, i want to rise with them not in a moment of silence but in a moment of tribute. we will perhaps have an opportunity to speak a longer time. many of us had the opportunity to participate in a memorial sort -- service for tom foley. tom foley was the speaker of this house. to thisng was a luster congress. major owens was another whom we lost. people who made this institution a better place. ike skelton was my brother. he and i were sigma chi. his son was a sigma chi. his father was a sigma chi. we had a very special bond to start out with. in addition, his first wife susan, who died too early, as mine did, came out and knocked on doors for me in maryland just on the road here. ike,e a special bond with also an extraordinary and great respect by the way he conducted himself as a representative of the people of his district in missouri. gave to eachhat he of us and the respect that he received in return. ,ow sad it is that these giants t

mccaskill and ayotte or designees each controlling 75 minutes, the ranking member or designee controlling 20 minutes, and the chairman or designee controlling 10 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. donnelly: i ask unanimous consent the banking, housing and urban affairs committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 381 and the senate proceed to its consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 381, a bill to award a congressional gold medal to the world war i members of the dolittle tokyo raiders for outstanding heroism, valor, skill and service to the united states in conducting the bombings of tokyo. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. donnelly: i ask unanimous consent the brown amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read three times and passed and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. donnelly: i ask unanimous consent the armed services committee be discharged from further consideration

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. president? >> the senator from new hampshire. >> i thank you, mr. president. i want to thank my colleague, senator collins, senator hi cull sky for their -- mikulski for their leadership on issue and for bringing this important discussion to the floor today. also want to thank senator her kousky who i see in the chamber as well, as well as senator mccaskill who is a member of the armed services committee with me. and the has been an issue that has brought people together. and it has brought people together for the right reasons. an issue that the women of the senate have really, i think, driven, but it's important to understand that this is not a woman's issue. the issue of ending sexual assaults many in you are military -- in our military is an issue for everyone. this is an issue about justice, this is an issue about fairness, this is about making sure that victims of crimes -- both men and women -- get the justice that they deserve, get the support that they dese

mr. president, that each amendment be subject to one side-by-side amendment relative to the amendment it is paired with, that a mccaskill-ayotte amendment be considered side-by-side to the gillibrand amendment and the majority leader or designee have the side-by-side to the republican guantanamo amendment, that no second-degree amendments be in order to any of these amendments, that each of these amendments and any side-by-side be subject to 60-vote affirmative threshold, that each side-by-side amendment be voted on prior to the amendment to which they were offered. further, that no motions to recommit be considered. finally, that upon disposition of the amendments, i be recognized. the presiding officer: is there objection? the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, reserving the -- first of all, let me say to my good friend, the leader, that i wholeheartedly agree that the two arguably the most significant amendments and most controversial amendments that have to be addressed would be on the guantanamo and then, of course, on the gillibrand amendment on sexual assaults. i -- i think we probably have differe

mr. inhofe: reserving the right to object, would the senator amend his request to include the following language, following the disposition of the mccaskill-ayotte amendment all amendments be withdrawn and the republican manager or his designee be recognized to offer an amendment followed by an amendment by the majority side and the two sides continue offering amendments in alternating fashion until all amendments are disposed of. the presiding officer: will the leader so modify his request? mr. reid: madam president, with the deepest respect to my friend, the senior senator from oklahoma, we are not in a position to have a bunch of amendments on this bill. it took us weeks to get compounding done, weeks, plural. what we should do is get this very contentious amendment out of the way and move on to other amendments. there's no reason we can't agree amendment to amendment. we are not -- everyone has to understand, everyone has to understand this is not going to be an open amendment process. not going to happen. we tried that, remember? people said haven't done anything on energy for five years. that pretty well says it all. but we said oka