The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act has several proposals sponsored or co-sponsored by 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree.
“One which is called ‘Safe To Report,’ which makes sure we don’t turn the victims of the sexual trauma into criminals because they report what happened to them,” says Pingree.
Pingree says her amendment ensures that the Veterans Administration informs victims of their rights and benefits as survivors of military sexual trauma.
Other amendments authorize destroyer construction at Bath Iron Works and submarine overhauls at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The House and Senate now must reconcile the differences in their two versions of the measure.
“There is some, you know, progressive things around denying any funding for the border wall, sending troops to the border,” Pingree says. “It cuts out low-grade nuclear weapons that the President was trying to institute. It reverses the transgender ban.”