Military Sexual Trauma

As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veteran Affairs, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today asked President Biden’s new Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis R. McDonough for his commitment to examine and ease the evidentiary standard for disability claims filed by survivors of military sexual trauma (MST). “Military sexual trauma has long been a... Read more »

Today, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 7105, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvements Act, a comprehensive veterans’ bill including improvements supported by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), with several provisions she authored as part of H.R. 1092, the Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act. “Every year ... Read more »

In a hearing for the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Congresswoman Pingree spoke in support of her bill, H.R. 1092, The Servicemember and Veterans’ Empowerment and Support Act. Pingree’s bill would improve resources and care for survivors of military sexual trauma (MST). “Women and men who have experienced military sexual trauma cont... Read more »

U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today reintroduced their bipartisan bill to improve resources and care for survivors of military sexual trauma (MST). Read more »

Amid reports that nude photos of dozens of female service members were shared online without their consent, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is joining Senators Jon Tester (D-Montana) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in introducing a bill (H.R. 1954) to ensure that veterans who have been the victims of sexual harassment online have access to counseling and benefits. Building on Pingree’s long record of ... Read more »

The House today passed a key provision from the Ruth Moore Act, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s legislation to help survivors of military sexual trauma obtain disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Reporting language was included in a larger package of veterans-related legislation, the bipartisan Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016, which is likely t... Read more »

On the heels of a Human Rights Watch report that documents and draws attention to the experience of survivors of military sexual trauma, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of Senate Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) wrote Secretary of Defense Ash Carter urging the Pentagon to reform their procedures for reviewing the cases of veterans improperly... Read more »

At a press conference in Washington today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree called on the Department of Defense to change practices that have led tens of thousands of veterans to be improperly discharged from the military. A report out today by Human Rights Watch documents how many survivors of military sexual assault suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) improperly received “other tha... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree applauded tonight’s unanimous House passage of H.R. 1607—the Ruth Moore Act of 2015—a bill she introduced earlier this year to make it easier for veterans who were sexually assaulted during their service to receive disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. “Since starting to work on this issue, not a day goes by that I don’t hear from another vetera... Read more »

Tells committee she is not going to give up fight for justice for veterans Read more »