Speier to focus on military spending

As 2012 begins, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier is planning to shift her efforts toward reforming the Department of Defense and combating military assault and rape.

Speier, D-San Mateo, held a wide-ranging conversation with local reporters Thursday morning and expressed optimism about her new goals of stopping ?waste, fraud and abuse? by the Department of Defense. Speier has taken issue with how assault and rape within the military ? the number of occurrences as well as how it?s handled.

Looking ahead, Speier has chosen some possibly difficult challenges. First, she would like to combat problems with the Department of Defense stemming from overspending as well as investing in obsolete equipment. One example of a problem Speier noted is the Alaska Native Corporations, formed by Congress decades ago to help impoverished native people. Awarding contracts through the ANCs allows the government to bypass the bid process. Numerous reports have questioned the practice often saying the awarding of such contracts violates the law, Speier said.

?No one touches it,? Speier said, despite the reports and questionable practices. ?I?m going to.?

Another issue Speier hopes to address is assault and rape in the military.

This is not a new issue for Speier who in November introduced the Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act ? the STOP Act which would take the reporting, oversight, investigation and victim care of sexual assaults out of the hands of the military?s normal chain of command and into the newly created? Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office comprised of civilian and military experts. ?

Currently, a person must report the act to his or her commanding officer, a requirement Speier questioned as being a conflict of interest. That commanding officer, she noted, has personal incentive not to look into the reported assault.

In 2010, the Department of Defense conducted a survey of active duty members which revealed that only 13.5 percent of the more than 19,000 incidents of rapes and sexual assaults involving service members were actually reported, Speier said.

Speier also touched on other issues such as legislation passed in the wake of the Sept. 10, 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion, which failed to require updates in older lines. Since the 2010 explosion, Speier has been an active advocate for safety enhancements in the transportation of gas. As a result, she feels the local transmission lines are the safest in the nation. That being said, she continues to have concerns about national safety. Bills that passed, for example, do not require automatic shutoff valves in existing pipes ? a recommendation from the National Transportation and Safety Board.

Another goal, one which will partner Speier with a Republican from Arkansas, will give states the power to require Internet companies to charge sales tax. Such a bill could create currently lost income for states, she said.

Although not discussed at length, Speier also noted she doesn?t see immigration reform happening in 2012; she thinks President Obama will be re-elected; and would locally like to raise residents? awareness of the dangers of rising sea levels.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by email: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.

Source: http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=226108

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