Posted on 12/09/2013 2:20:56 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is headed back to the drawing board with her controversial proposal to take sexual assault cases outside the chain of command.
Gillibrand had been assured a vote on her plan during work on the Defense authorization bill.
[snip]
Gillibrand spokeswoman Bethany Lesser said the senator is confident she will eventually receive a vote on her measure, even if it isnt voted on as an amendment to the Defense bill.
Her amendment was introduced as a stand-alone measure on the floor last month under a procedure that would allow Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring it straight to the floor.
Still, Gillibrand had fully expected she would have the more straightforward approach to vote on her measure through the must-pass Defense authorization bill.
The proposal to prosecute sexual assault and other major criminal cases outside the chain of command has generated heated debate in the Senate, drawing supporters and detractors in both parties.
Gillibrand and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), the chief opponent of her proposal, intensely fought for the votes of undecided senators in the lead-up to the Defense bills consideration.
Gillibrand needed 60 votes for her amendment, and had secured 53 publicly by the day of the potential vote, when the Senate took six hours to debate it.
A vote was stymied, however, when Republicans objected on the grounds that Reid was not allowing their amendments to receive votes..............
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
The comment prompted Gillibrand to turn red, according to the sources, and created a bit of stir among the small crowd there.
"It was pretty shocking when he said it," said one source familiar with the remark and the reaction.
A Reid spokesman confirmed it happened, but also noted that the Democratic Majority Leader also praised Gillibrand for her work.
First Bloomberg spoke, then Sen. Chuck Schumer, and then Reid, according to the sources. Reid praised Schumer at length, discussing how he could have run for governor - and won - in 2006, but didn't, and instead accepted the Nevada senator's entreaties to run the DSCC.
Then he turned his attention to Gillibrand, saying something about how "many senators are known for many things," according to a source. He added, "We in the Senate refer to Sen. Gillibrand as the hottest member."...................
what?
You mean debbie wasserman schultz isn’t the hottest demonRAT?
taking ugly to a whole new level.
Harry clearly has done it until he went blind.
Well? Is she hot?
A young Dick Cheney in drag.
Thanks for clarifying.
:)
Dick Cheney is hot?
Perhaps to Harry Reid.
LOL.
Sadly, the ONLY good looking DEMOCRAT in Congress!!!!!! The Democrats are NOT know for HOT chicks or even handsome men, unless they are GAY!!
Working to set up a Political Corps. Putting Commissars in the units.
There is a reason they keep justice within the military chain of command when it applies to crimes committed on military time against the military in some way.
So, a sexual assault against a civilian by a military member would end up in civilian courts, but an assault against a member of the military would be handled by the military.
It is because the military is its own unique community, and good order and discipline demand that the troops see justice being handed out fairly and firmly.
amend the bill to reimpose DADT.
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