Senator Gillibrand has been working extremely hard
on getting enough support for her Military Sexual Assault Bill which changes
the way sexual assaults are handled in the military. Senator Gillibrand is in a
battle with another Democratic female Senator Clare McCaskill of Missouri who
also has a bill on changing how sexual assaults in the military are handled.
McCaskill’s bill is slightly different than Kirsten Gillibrand’s. According to
The New York Times this is putting
Democratic lawmakers and Senators in a very difficult position on which female
member in their own party to support. Both female Senators have been lobbying
Senators for their signatures for many months now, as well as meeting with the
media. Both of these women are becoming very high profile female members of
Congress and are on the short list of other Democratic possible presidential
candidates for 2016 if Hilary Clinton decides not to run. According to The New York Times both women’s
popularity has increased a lot in recent years. The New York Times mentions that this especially puts Senate
Majority leader Harry Reid in a very difficult position as to which bill to
support. He currently is in a bind
because he is fond of both women and their work on this issue.
Senator
Gillibrand has another hurdle that Senator McCaskill does not have since top
Pentagon officials oppose her bill and not McCaskill’s bill. The reason is
Senator Gillibrand’s bill takes the power of who handles sexual assaults in the
military outside of the military rather than have military attorneys handle
these cases. However, McCaskill’s bill
does not go that far. Kirsten Gillibrand
keeps a whiteboard in her office which lists the Senators on a scale of 1 to 5
with 5 being those who are most likely to support her bill. Even within an hour
of the newly elected New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker being sworn into
the Senate, Kirsten Gillibrand scheduled a meeting with him to talk about this
bill and try to get his support. Both
women also face the hurdle that some male senators who are on both sides of the
aisle are having trouble taking a stand all together on such a personal issue for
women. This is especially true because
it is a complicated issue with major legal implications. Senator Gillibrand’s
measure, according to The New York Times, did not pass the
Armed Services Committee, but Harry Reid will let her offer an amendment to the
Military Spending Bill that will be put on the Senate floor for a vote. Gillibrand currently has support of 46 senators
thus far.
The
other interesting factor is that both women have support from Republicans and
outside groups. Senator McCaskill has the support of Military leaders, such as
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other military groups. Senator Gillibrand has
support from victims groups and Conservative and Liberal Democrats. The New Times says Senator Tex Cruz, a
Texas Senator who is a tea party Republican, even supports Gillibrand’s bill. Senator
Gillibrand said in a quote “I feel like we are making real progress every
meeting the recent debate has only elevated the issues. I am going to make sure
every Senator knows the facts.” The House has even passed a bill with many of
the same military sexual assault provisions in it, but the Senate is still 30
Senators short of getting a bill passed. Many are Republicans who have not taken
a stance yet. Senator Gillibrand has even encouraged Republican Senator Tom
Corbin of Oklahoma who was very against her bill to reconsider. After their meeting
he said “I am thinking I am thinking.” He said her passion and hard work is to
be admired these days in Washington.
The debate on the issue of sexual assaults in
the military is getting extremely heated even among members of the same party.
This proves that sometimes battles in Washington are not just between members
of opposite parties, but also between members of the same party with similar
views. Only time will tell how this issue will play out in Washington in the
end. Senator Gillibrand has been working very hard and has been extremely
determined with respect to this issue. It will be interesting to see if support
from even a Republican like Ted Cruz would help her or hurt her among members
of her own party and Republicans as well. Moreover, it will also be interesting
to see if the bipartisanship in Washington that Senator Gillibrand has always
been pushing for helps her advance politically and even become president
someday.
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