Senator Hillary Clinton slams Pentagon action on sexual assaults

Clinton slams sex assault prevention efforts

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Aug 6, 2008 18:32:56 EDT

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has called for an investigation into the Pentagon program that aims to prevent and respond to sexual assaults, expressing particular concern that such assaults may be on the rise and citing the failure of the defense official who runs that program to appear before Congress last week.

“I am deeply concerned by the Pentagon’s inadequate response to sexual assaults on our troops and the administration’s unwillingness to answer questions about this important issue,” Clinton said in an Aug. 6 letter to Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Service members who brave so many dangers while defending our nation deserve better.”

Clinton asked Levin to hold an oversight hearing that would “allow us to identify the necessary reforms to protect our service members from sexual assault.”

During a July 31 hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s national security and foreign affairs panel, the Government Accountability Office released a report stating that while the military response to sexual assault is improving, efforts are hindered by such factors as inadequate guidance on implementation in deployed and joint environments, part-time program coordinators filling the job as a collateral duty, and a failure by some commanders to support the program.
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