As of January 3, 2013, there were 20 women in the United States Senate, more than in any other Congress in American history. Last June, that select group convened in the U.S. Capitol’s Appropriations Committee hearing room to privately discuss a direly pressing issue: Military rape. Of the estimated 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact in 2012, only 3,000 were reported and 300 prosecuted. It was time for the female senators to agree on a single bill.
Yet they couldn’t do it. Instead, two bills, one from New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand and one from Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill, moved forward. Gillibrand’s bill, backed by 17 of the female senators, couldn’t overcome a filibuster last week. Only three of the female senators signed onto McCaskill’s bill — yet it’s expected to pass a Monday afternoon Senate vote with flying colors. How did she do it?
For one, McCaskill’s pre-Senate career primed her to address the long-overlooked problem of military rape. McCaskill is one of three former prosecutors now serving as female senators, along with North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte. TIME notes that McCaskill made her name as an attorney prosecuting rape cases that others wouldn’t touch. “I have more experience prosecuting sexual assault cases than anyone in the Senate. I have spent more time holding the hands of rape victims,” she said when she presented her bill that June day. “This bill does not let anyone off easy.”
That’s no exaggeration. Her bill expands the rights and options for victims, while holding everyone accountable for their actions. For instance, the “good soldier” defense currently invokes factors such as the service record of the accused. McCaskill’s bill would kill that defense. Under her bill, the victim receives a say in whether the case will be handled in a civilian or military court if the crime occurred off of a military base. Meanwhile, a commander’s record on handling of sexual-assault cases would be taken into account with every promotion. As TIME points out, the measure also extends important protections to students in service academies like the Air Force and Naval Academies, where numbers of rapes are increasing.
Opponents exist both inside and outside politics. Some Senators think that McCaskill’s bill is easy on rapists. “The most frustrating thing about this,’’ she told the Washington Post, “is the narrative that, ‘Whose side are you on, the victim’s or the commander’s?’ That’s offensive.” Victims’ groups fear another round broken promises, as politicians such as California’s Barbara Boxer and Maryland’s Barbara Mikulski, have pushed for reforms for decades with no progress.
In the face of scrutiny and competition, all female senators have taken pains to maintain their supportive sorority. Nearly all of the women are now expected to back McCaskill’s bill. “We’re now 20 women total in the Senate,” Mikulski told TIME. “We disagree on some issues, even the bills before us. But we agree on the goal of providing more prosecutorial tools to punish criminals, ensuring fairness in the process and getting help to victims.”
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This Senator Has a Plan to Fight America’s Looming Physician Shortage
New Mexico, like many states, is seeing signs of the looming nationwide physician shortage. All but one county is facing a serious gap between the need for primary care physicians and available local doctors. Experts estimate that more than 1,400 doctors are currently practicing in the state, more than 200 short of what they need, and obstacles like the cost of med school are in the way. Especially with New Mexico’s expansive rural population, it’s a major problem. That’s why U.S. Senator Mark Udall is out to fix it, and offer a nationwide solution at the same time. Along with Senator Martin Heinrich, Udall introduced the Increasing Primary Care Access Act, which aims to improve training programs and hold the medical education system more accountable, all the in name of increasing access to healthcare. The goal of the bill is to equip the education system with the tools to serve the demand for newly trained doctors, including five specific programs:
- Centers of excellence that focus on primary care in med schools
- Incentive programs to encourage med students to choose residencies in primary care
- Reauthorization for the Teacher Health Center program, to create community care centers that can host primary care residents
- Committing graduate medical education funds to areas experiencing primary care provider shortages
- Funding workforce analysis centers to improve residencies in underserved areas.
Meanwhile, Senator Dean Heller of Nevada has joined Udall in introducing another bill, focusing specifically on healthcare access for rural veterans. Meaning there’s still hope before America’s physician shortage gets out of hand.
How a Homeless Man Inspired a U.S. Senator
It’s often said you can’t understand what someone is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes. So when U.S. Senator Chris Murphy decided he wanted to learn about the challenges facing homeless men and women in his community, he did just that. In late December, Murphy spent a day shadowing “Nick”–he requested his real name not be printed–a 40-year-old man who had spent six months on the streets. Murphy met Nick early in the morning, when his shelter asks residents to leave for the day. After wandering the neighborhood and briefly seeking relief from the cold at a local Dunkin’ Donuts, the duo went to the library, where Nick spent a few hours applying for jobs and responding to emails.
Throughout the day, Murphy learned that despite Nick’s rough start in life — his dad was a drug addict, and Nick has struggled with addiction, as well — he was able to graduate high school and work as a salesman for many years. He only became homeless when he was laid off and lost his home last year. With more than 20 years of work experience, you might think it would be easy for Nick to find a job. But as Murphy learned, the cycle of poverty is vicious. “He can’t get a job without a permanent address and can’t get a permanent address without a job,” Murphy told ThinkProgress.
After having lunch at a soup kitchen — beans, hot dogs and canned corn — Murphy accompanied Nick to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, then killed some time until they could line up at the shelter to wait for a bed. “As sobering as a day like this is, it’s slightly inspirational to hear somebody who’s been through what these guys have been through still believing there’s better days coming up soon,” Murphy told the New Haven Independent. Maybe the Senator’s influence–and his new experience with homelessness–can help those better days arrive.
MORE: Utah Is on Track to End Homelessness by 2015 with One Simple Idea