Blumenthal Statement on the Coast Guard's Accountability & Transparency Review
As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Blumenthal will convene a hearing next week on sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Accountability and Transparency Review (ATR) report:
“I support any and all efforts to change the longstanding culture that tolerates and allows sexual harassment, assault, and abuse to persist with impunity at the Coast Guard Academy – including the recommendations in this report. But the Coast Guard’s “Accountability” task force did not, in fact, recommend any steps to hold accountable past perpetrators or generations of Coast Guard leaders who oversaw and enabled a culture of misconduct and cover-up. This is unacceptable. Perpetrators must know that their actions will be punished, and survivors must know that their accounts will be taken seriously, their safety protected, and that justice will be pursued on their behalf.”
In September, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) opened a bipartisan inquiry into the Coast Guard Academy’s mishandling of sexual assault investigations and its failure to disclose the results of its sexual assault investigation to Congress or the public.
The full text of the PSI’s initial letter to the Coast Guard is available here.
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