is the king this is a court that is subject to the federal rules of evidence of the uniform code of military justice the military rules of evidence all of this is within the confines of the military justice system and it is by no means that i can this is what i could. i'm not suggesting i am not suggesting that the court is advised to take matters in secret and their class of disclosure where. in essence a close court i think that that transparency and to the extent the state i don't think it that bites but in the case to me that there are very serious. information that is being disclosed that in the national interests and that's judges don't simply close the court in this country because they want to avoid embarrassment of the united states that's not what any fortunately the national interest has a bad information that's being disclosed i tell you go ahead. jump in unfortunately national interest has been combined with now with corporate interests we don't know where the interests lie anymore because we spent last year fourteen billion dollars classifying information in this country i know for a f

is the king this is a court that is subject to the federal rules of evidence for the uniform code of military justice the military rules of evidence all of this is within the confines of the military justice system and it is by no means i can this is what i know the good. i'm not suggesting i am not suggesting that the court is. to take matters in secret and their class of disclosure where. in essence a close court i think that that transparency and to the extent that state led zeppelin's that i don't think of that but in the case to me that there are very serious. information that is being disclosed that in the national interests and that's judges don't simply close a court in this country because they want to avoid embarrassment of the united states that's not what i need fortunately the national interest has a bad information that's being disclosed i tell you go ahead. jump in unfortunately national interest has been combined with now with corporate interests we don't know where the interests lie anymore because we spent last year fourteen billion dollars classifying information in this country i

command such that assaults, but particularly sexual assault, will be removed from the uniform code of military justice within the per view of the commander. i think that's a bad idea. >> just a little while ago, the chairman of the committee opened the hearing. i just want to play for you what he had to say. >> discipline is the heart of the military culture, and trust is its soul. the plague of sexual assault erodes both the heart and the soul. we expect our men and women in uniform to be brothers and sisters in arms, to be prepared to take care of each other. that trust is violated when one servicemember sexually assaults another and can only be restored when we have decisively restored discipline and addressed this plague. >> i thought he made such a great point there. how do you trust the person to your right and to your left if one of those people is somebody who maybe was involved in something like this? i mean, i just think that the pervasiveness and how it could translate into the battlefield or any sort of action that you take as a member of the military is horrible. >> trust is absolutely es

to go fight our wars in the dangerous thing about that is they don't fall under the uniform code of military justice they don't fall under any of the rules they can do anything may want their cowboys out there with guns and they can kill innocent people and there's no repercussions from it we're taping this program in new york jesse came here from minnesota who wanted to fly in the city didn't fly any took the train no he's not afraid of flying i got thirty four parachute jump sodaine afraid i'd jump out of them or i want you to i won't fly larry because tired of being treated like a criminal at the airport i have metal in my body so when i pass through the metal detector from that point on i'm treated like a criminal and i brought a lawsuit against the t.s.a. and homeland security over my fourth amendment constitutional rights and the key word is reasonable search and seizure how is it reasonable to believe jesse ventura is a threat i've been a mayor i've been a governor i'm an arm or a blue discharge navy veteran and i've been flying for thirty years that they have to you're going to says certain

to go fight our wars in the dangerous thing about that is they don't fall under the uniform code of military justice they don't fall under any of the rules they can do anything may want their cowboys out there with guns and they can kill innocent people and there's no repercussions from it we're taping this program in new york jesse came here from minnesota as they wanted to fly in he said he didn't fly any took the train i know he's not afraid of flying i got thirty four parachute jump suit in afraid i'd jump out of them why won't you fly i won't fly larry because tired of being treated like a criminal at the airport i have metal in my body so when i pass through the metal detector from that point on i'm treated like a criminal and i brought a lawsuit against the t.s.a. and homeland security over my fourth amendment constitutional rights and the key word is reasonable search and seizure how is it reasonable to believe jesse ventura is a threat i've been a mayor i've been a governor i'm an arm or a blue discharge navy veteran and i've been flying for thirty years that they have to have that you're g

. >> a bipartisan group of senators has proposed legislation to adjust the uniform code of military justicend remove cases of sexual assault from the descendants team of command. >> if you have to go through a nine month trial and then have your commanding officer overturned a jury verdict and have to salute the perpetrator, the predator repute, something is wrong with the system. >> the president demanded answers last month. today those same chiefs pushed back on a proposal that would take away a commanders' authority to decide which cases go to trial. >> if i believe that we are removing commanders and they're central responsibility and addressing sexual assault was of these crimes within our ranks i would be your strongest proponents. removing commanders, making commanders less responsible and less accountable will not work. >> that issue was the crux of today's debate. both sides agree something has to change. >> just last night a woman came to me and said her daughter wanted to join the military and could i give my unqualified support for doing so. i could nott >> it was another republ

of person who feels they've been wronged by their commander. article 138 already in the u.c.m.j.. >> ifill: the military code of -- the uniform code of military justice. just want to point that out. >> thank you. also congress it had law in 2006 and makes it -- it's always been northbound the u.c.m.j. that judge advocates can go around the chain of command and raise things in the senior level of the jag chain and in addition there's inspector general which is is another statutorily protected option. so there is at least three options where people can go around the chain of command already in the law. >> ifill: well, we'll have to leave it there. >> we should keep in mind that the system in place now in 2006 there were 34,000 estimated sexual assaults. they dropped to 19,000. a 44% drop in 2010 and now we've seen an uptick. >> ifill: we're going have to leave that conversation for another time. eugene fidell at yale law school and general charles dunlap at duke law school. thanks very much. >> thanks, gwen. >> thank you, gwen. >> brown: next, another economic meltdown. that's the dire prediction of a former white house budget director, who argues in a

military families the care and support they need, deserve and have earned. specifically, this year's proposal reforms the way the department of defense must address sexual assault in the uniformed code of military justice and provides significant additional support, especially in the form of dedicated legal assistance and whistleblower protection to victims of this terrible crime. in addition, the mark would support the service's requested in strength while ensuring the army and marine corps adhere to the limitation on reductions mandated in the national defense authorization act of fiscal year 2013. it reaffirms the committee's commitment to the operational reserves by requiring minimum notification before deployment or cancellation of deployment and provides authority to improve the personal -- personnel readiness of the national guard. this also requires the secretary of defense to review and make improvements to the integrated disability evaluation system for members of the reserve components, and further authorizes transitional compensation and other benefits for dependents of a service member who is separated from the armed forces because of a court marshal and forfeits all pay and benefits. this

a bi-partisan group of senators has proposed legislation to adjust the uniform code of military justice and remove cases of sexual assault from the defendants' chain of command. >> if you have to go through a nine-month trial and have your commanding officer overturn a jury's verdict and salute the perpetrator, the predator who raped you, something is wrong with the system. >> reporter: the president demanded answers from the joint chiefs last mo today those same chiefs pushed back on a proposal that would take away a commander's authority to decide which cases go to trial. >> if i believe removing commanders from their central role of responsibility in addressing sexual assault would solve these crimes within our ranks, i would be your strongest proponent, but removing commanders, making commanders less responsible a less accountable, will not work. >> reporter: that issue was the crux of today's debate. both sides agree something has to change. >> just last night a woman came to me and said her daughter wanted to join the military and could i give my unqualified support for her doing

borch will discuss the horse -- historical context surrounding today's uniform code of military justice and the role of the commander within that code. captain crow will take us through a hypothetical sexual assault case, walk us through its progress within the military justice system from the victims reported the crime to its adjudication. these presentations are broad. we will undoubtedly generate more questions than answers but they will provide a necessary foundation for the panel's work. thank you very much for your attention. professor addington. speedo is like to thank the judge and also the panel for inviting me to present before you today. my goal and my hope is that i'm able to provide context for victimization and reporting issues to assist you in your charge. my focus as judge jones mentioned this on civilian crime data. that is my area of expertise where i combined research and my work but i also had ms. jones for a question asked me to do comparisons with the military data and make comments about the workplace gender relations survey that was done and possible suggestions

really comfortable, they're not warm and fuzzy about dramatic changes, especially in the uniformed code of military justice. the fact that they have all signed off and removing the ability of a general to overturn a jury conviction is remarkable. that is a form that is going to happen. it's going to happen this year. and there have a number of other reforms that they are embracing. there are a few areas where we all don't agree. but frankly, in some of those instances, i think what we've got do do is look at this through the prism of prosecution, how do we support the victims coming forward. how do we make sure they're not retaliated against? how do they remain comfortable in their work environment after they've come forward if we can solve those problems, then we're really going to turn the corner on this issue. >> claire mccaskill, thank you so much again, senator. >> thank you. >>> and a special homecoming for a woman of incredible courage. boston marathon bombing victim, erica brannick. the last to leave the hospital. she lost her leg above the left knee in the april 15th attack. some of her friends an

a court-martial is conducted under something called the uniform code of military justice which lists out particular offenses that military personnel can be prosecuted for. generally, the jury is made up of military officers. and you also have a presiding judge. it is a slightly different procedure. there are slightly different procedural rules that apply and it is a system of justice that's meant just for the military. >> john: what's the advantage to private manning of waiving his right to a jury? >> that's a good question. i think probably he was thinking that he might not get a fair trial from members of the military who might be more inclined to view his actions as being detrimental to the kind of order andes minute of a military. >> john: he may have thought correctly. chase, you wrote an excellent piece for this month's nation that everybody has to read where you break down the most popular myths about the bradley manning case. can you quickly go through and debunk a few of those? >> one of the first myths is these leaks have put us on a slippery slope toward total transparency

involved in a terrorist conspiracy or unless they're investigating a violation of the uniform code of military justice that draws the line where the line has been since the 1870s and the posse act. now, the department of defense has obliterated that line by collecting information on every single telephone call that every american makes forever. >> john: what kind of support is your act getting now? >> it is too early to say. there has been tremendous support from the public. over 20,000 people have already come to our web site mind your own business act.com and signed our citizen petition to pass the act. i think that will snowball. we'll see hundreds of thousands of people eventually. i think we'll see more and more members of congress understand the simple principle involved here. that kind of spying does not make us safer and it is beneath our dignity as americans. >> john: you know, john kerry of course -- lives may have been put at risk. were you surprise by the sheer value ume of data mining that snowden disclosed. do you think it is legal? >> i think everyone was surprised, i've talked to conse

these include the following, amending the uniform code of military justice, the limit the authority of a convening authority to modify the findings and sentence of a court-martial. riring that special victims council be provided to victims of sexual assault. the air force has been doing it on a test basis since january. bills before us would be put into statute the requirement of commonders who receive reports of sexual assault offenses that next higher fore officer in the chain of commabbed. the secretary of defense to establish a legal authority outside the chain of command to determine whether and how to proceed with a case. that would take the place of the commander who now serves as the initial disposition authority under current law. the bill before us would amend the ucmg to establish a separate authority outside the chain of command to appoint courts martial for serious offenses. to remove the character of accused to be considered in deciding how to proceed with a case and would require that all sexual-related offenses be noted the personal records in the offender. it is import

includes reforms the way the department defense must address sexual assault and the uniform code of military justiceave a copy? we don't have a copy. >> it should be distributed. >> he's giving his opening statement. this is not . >> but it should be. [inaudible conversations] the mark should be on your desk. >> i see it now, mr. chairman, excuse me. thank you. >> the mark should be on the desk. this is not the amendment. this is his mark. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i hope everyone has their copy of the mark. proceeding -- we still support the services requested end strength with ensuring the army and marine corps.ed a her to the limitations mandated in the national defense authorization act forphysial year 2013. it reaffirms the committee to operational reserve by requiring minimum notification before employment or cancellation of employment. provides authority to improve the readiness of the national guard. requiring that steek tear of defense to improve and make improvement to the inability dability evaluation system for the reserve component and further authorizations transitional compensation

begin working on historic changes, unprecedented changes to the union formed road -- uniform code of military justice in response to a serious and significant problem of sexual assault in our military. i've come to the floor before we convene to explain why i am supporting significant changes as to how we handle sexual assaults in the military but also why i am not supporting completely removing the role senior military commanders play in ordering these kinds of trials to go forward. the discussion of this issue take me back many years, when i began prosecuting rape and sodomy cases as a young assistant d.a. in the prosecutor's office in kansas city. for years, i handled dozens and dozens of these cases in the courtroom, both as an assistant prosecutor and as the elected prosecutor, i have had the opportunity, the blessing, the challenge, and the scarring that comes from holding victims' hands, crying with victims, feeling their pain, the permanency of the injuries they have suffered as a result of these unspeakable chrysler. i would challenge anyone in the senate to come to this issue with more expe

military. they wear the uniform, they are paid based on their military rank subject to the uniform code of military justice and upon the release from that period of training they are issued with either on a mobile service or other than whatever the characterization may be. november of 1995, the amended regulations to reflect on the general counsel statutory interpretation concerning this type of service. the statutory authority for the disability resulting from service stated in 1110 is not limited to provide conversation with disabilities caused by the military service. the statutory authority is to compensate the veterans for disability incurred or aggravated by service. once an individual takes the oath to serve in the united states they are on duty 24 hours a day seven days a week. if he or she is injured or develops a chronic disease whether in combat or during the routine activities claims process and the decision in entitlement than the amount of any disability that may be payable. in determining whether it is related to the military service the mussulmans of an injury or disease or exposure of serv

decision makers or convening authorities for the prosecution of sexual assaults under the uniform code of military justice, but also as those responsible for ensuring the operational readiness of our military and essential to that critical mission, responsible for creating a command climate with zero tolerance for sexual assaults. as our study proceeds, we remain acutely aware that congress has also asked for our assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the legislative proposals currently being debated in both houses. and we're committed to working efficiently to provide timely and thoroughly considered recommendations. for today's hearing, our goals are modest. we know that before we can address the problem of sexual assault in the military, we must understand it. to that end, as colonel ham told you, we have three sets of presenters. professor addington will focus on the civilian sexual assault statistics, providing us the demographics, if you will, the who, what, when and where of sexual assault victimization in american society. where possible, she will also identify parallels, similarities and d

who have served in the military bud mckean, the head of the house armed services committee there is a concern if we make reforms too fast in the uniform code of military justice, the law that governors the military prosecutions could be hurt. so i think that's why you might seem more moderate senators >> some democrats a little bit slower to pick up senator jillibrand's proceedposal. without that, you are going to continue to see people not reporting, not feeling safe enough to come forward and saying i am a service member and i have been raped and assaulted and i want justice. >> i find it ironic that they say this will under mine confidence on the chain of command. there is none given their history and given their record. you touched on something i wanted to ask about next which is the incidents of reporting. i mean there were witnesses who spoke to this yesterday. many people are afraid to come forward because they fear retaliation. >> for sure. bill, i see the folks who are victims of sexual assault on a daily basis. most of them haven't reported because they felt like their jobs would be at rick, that they would be at risk for retaliation, they could act

time to make such retaliation a criminal offense punishable under section 92 of the uniform code of military justice. we express this in congress the commanding officers are responsible for establishing a command climate in which a victim can report criminal activity including sexual assault without fear of retaliation and should be relieved of command if they fail to do so. this is not an issue of a division between those who advocate strong action to address sexual assault in the military and those who don't. no member of this committee accepts the status quo of thousands of sexual assaults in the military every year of every member of this committee wants to act forcefully to drive sexual assaults out of the military. the question for us is how to most effectively of shape -- achieve this objective our alternative will be more attractive to attack this problem than the provision of the subcommittee mark. our nation has no strong their vehicle for achieving the difficult and dangerous than our military. when we ask the answer, no matter how hard the task or what sacrifice we must make a message we

i know that secretary hagel has already recommended changing the ucmj, the uniform code of military justicerom the chain of command, and that's the ability to overturn a verdict. commanders know this is a probable. general amos has said the reason why victims don't come forward is they don't trust us, they don't trust the chain of command to handle these cases proper l. wife also heard from general dempsey who says they think they've been too soft on the perpetrator perpetrators, that if someone is a decorated soldier, who has earned various awards and purple hearts, they may go soft on him, not prosecute the cases. what are the victims to think when even the commanders know they don't trust them. they don't trust them to have accountability and justice. so we care about military readiness, if we care about making sure we have good order and discipline, then we have to deal with these problems and we have to make sure these perpetrators, these predators are taking out so we can honor of service of the men and women who are part of the -- >> lee gallagher. >> senator, i applaud your efforts.

other countries have similar uniform codes of military justice. ours is based on the british system. and the brits and the canadians d the new zealanders and the israelis have taken this out of the chain of command and it's working. it's time for us to have that discussion as well. i urge my colleagues to embrace an amendment that i will take up in rules committee that will at least give us the opportunity to have this debate, this healthy debate on the house floor. otherwise, i'll guarantee you in another six months, in another year we will see yet another scandal and we will not have changed anything. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. nugent: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from new york, the distinguished ranking member of the committee on small business, ms. velazquez. the speaker pro tempore: the

assault or other sex-related offense, a in yen, section 834 of title 10, united states code, article 34 of the uniformed code of military justice is amended, one, by redesignating subsection c -- s. duckworth: madam speaker, i'd like the amendment to be -- considered to be read. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlelady have a unanimous consent in ms. duckworth: unanimous consent to dispense with reading. the chair: the gentlelady -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. duckworth: just a single case of sexual assault is unacceptable. this is a self-inflicted wound that has no place in the greatest military in the world. i love the military with every bone in my body. the lessons i learned as an army officer, the camaraderie i experienced are at the core of who i am, just as it is for my brothers and sisters in arms. that is why i am personally devastated to see how many predators continue to abuse and attack one of our own. the military is a place of great discipline, technical proficiency and personal sacrifice for the greater good. it is a place where young men and women grow and thrive, developing as

and thirdly, we've got to preserve the integrity of the uniform code of military justice as an integrated functional system of justice. so first we've got to protect the critical role of the demander. the -- command permit the military is a hire arc write. the most junior recruit quickly learns that there is always someone above him in the military organization. i've been there, i understand that. troops have been instilled in them the need to follow the chain of command. that's what when they do. that's not a social system. this is a chain of command. our military is both an organization of leaders and of followers who are in training to become leaders. in peacetime or in war, leaders establish clear expectations and aest is cyst on meeting objectives. every job in the military is sport and every job needs to be done correctly because lives depend on it. the security of our nation also depends on it. to ensure the tough jobs get done, the military has a justice system which sets the expectation that decisions have consequences and i might add, bad decisions have consequences also. today

military trial despite the fact that he pled to a number of lesser charges. >> bill: they want him to get the max as an example. >> article 104 of the uniform code of justice the enemy. >> bill: which he did. >> present evidence from one of the 22 na seals that went in and raided abat bad for usama bin laden's place hard drives, materials, et cetera that connect directly back to wikileaks. nd so theying going to be able to say. >> bill: al qaeda people do go on wikileaks. you both say guilty. >> guilty. >> bill: by the way this weasel assange, julian assange,. >> he is hiding out. >> still in the ecuadoan embassy in london. >> must be nice. unlimited rm service. >> bill: it's not nice. this guy is in aittle room. he can't go out. >> i don't care. he is a criminal and he is avoiding charges. >> bill: he is he a criminal. >> sexual assault. >> bill: fort hood, the terrorist down there, the major is going to represent himself which is basically saying to the jury, i'm a loan,-- loon and please sentence me to death. >> horrible for the victims taking the stand that he is going to croxamine the very people that he. >> bi: the judge is going to reign him in. he

uniform victim advocate, young men and women who are trained to help victims. those advocates help report the crime to the next level. these military leaders don't want the code of justicet they want to make what they call reasonable changes to get rid of a culture complacent to sexual assault. >> i have five sisters, i have a mother. they set my moral compass on this issue. i have a daughter looking at coming into the united states air force. i will not be tolerant of this crime. >> reporter: today's hearing is the starting point for this senate committee. they will park up their version of the bill and could propose changes to how sexual assault is report in the military. live in washington, kyla campbell, ktvu channel 2 news. >> it. >>> 8:18. former u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton took a break from politics to give advice on fashion. she pitched the idea of a new reality show called project pantsuits. clinton made the comments to executives with bravo at an event to honor oscar de la renta. his suits and gowns have long been a favorite for the first ladies. >>> the statue of liberty was shut down in october in because of superstorm sandy. it will now open aga