McCaskill Points to Ft. Hood Case as Example of Army’s Trouble Dealing with Sexual Assaults May 15, 2013

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill says the latest incident involving an Army sergeant provides more ammunition for the push to reform how the military handles sexual complaints.
The latest incident involves a solider at Ft. Hood in Texas.
The solider was part of Fort Hood’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention and Response program.

“If these allegations are proven, then now is the time for our military leaders to reevaluate who is being put into these positions. Are folks filling these jobs who aren’t succeeding elsewhere? Or are these jobs being given to our best leaders?

McCaskill is on the senate armed Forces Committee. She has been pushing for reforms in the military code of justice program because of problems with the way the military handles sexual assault cases.

Blunt & McCaskill Push to Save Army Programs at Ft. Leonard Wood, Ft. Riley, Kan. Could Ben Involved, Too April 30, 2013

(AP) — Missouri’s two U.S. senators want the Pentagon to reconsider a proposed troop realignment that could reduce the number of soldiers stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in south-central Missouri by nearly 4,000.
The Army base at Ft. Riley Kansas, Kansas is one of several other military installations that could lose troops as well.
Republican Sen. Roy Blunt and Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, wrote a joint letter Monday to U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh saying they’re concerned about possible plans to reconfigure brigade combat teams at the Pulaski County installation. Both are on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
A preliminary report by the Army’s Environmental Command includes a possible force reduction of 3,900 of the more than 27,000 troops at Fort Leonard Wood. The proposal is part of a larger Army plan that could reduce the total number of enlisted soldiers by 80,000 in 2020.
The force reduction plan targets Fort Leonard Wood’s Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, part of a broad military training program that includes a school for military police.
Blunt and McCaskill pointed out that linking training units with their operational counterparts cuts down on the frequent transfers that can weaken military families. They also urged McHugh to keep in mind the Army’s “conscious effort” during the 2005 base realignments to keep training schools near larger installations.
The Army is holding a public meeting on the proposal at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fort Leonard Wood’s Abrams Theater. Similar sessions are planned at the 20 other installations targeted for realignment.

McCaskill Cites Akin in Fundraiser for SC Democrat April 24, 2013

(AP) – Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is citing former opponent Todd Akin in a new fundraising plea for a Democratic congressional candidate in South Carolina.

McCaskill sent a fundraising email Tuesday on behalf of Elizabeth Colbert Busch, who faces former Republican Gov. Mark Sanford in a special U.S. House election in South Carolina.

Sanford recently lost the support of the National Republican Congressional Committee after a family court complaint alleging he trespassed at his ex-wife’s house by watching the Super Bowl with his son.

In her email, McCaskill notes that national Republicans also publicly dropped support for then-Congressman Akin last year after he remarked that women’s bodies have ways of avoiding pregnancy from what he called "legitimate rape." But McCaskill notes that some Republicans eventually did fund his campaign for U.S. Senate.

McCaskill Presses for Use of Electronic Devices by Passengers on Flights April 17, 2013

The Hill (cap tip to johncombest.com)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) dismissed the idea that allowing airline passengers to use electronic devices during takeoffs and landings could distract them from hearing safety announcements on Tuesday.

After being pressured by McCaskill and other lawmakers, the FAA began studying easing its restrictions on electronic devices, which are currently banned completely when airplanes are below 10,000 feet.

The Missouri lawmaker said Tuesday that she doubted passengers would be less likely to pay attention to safety announcements if they had use of their electronics.

“I’ve never had a flight attendant say ‘put down your copy of War & Peace,’” McCaskill said during a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

McCaskill told a story of being on a flight with a passenger who was upset because she believed her powered-on phone would cause trouble for her airplane.

McCaskill said the passenger was told to stay in her seat by a flight attendant and that the airplane would be fine with the cell phone powered on, adding that she has “heard hundreds of flight attendants” deliver the same message.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told McCaskill that the agency is expecting to release the findings of its electronics study this summer.

McCaskill has threatened to introduce legislation to force the FAA to relent on its electronics prohibition if the agency does not decide to after releasing its findings.

Potential Deal on Gun Bill As Showdown Nears April 10, 2013

Politico:
Sens. Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey will unveil a bipartisan deal to expand background checks for commercial gun sales at a press conference Wednesday morning.

The agreement could give enough political cover for enough Republicans to vote Thursday and exceed the 60 vote requirement needed to allow the Senate to proceed to what would be an emotional floor debate on gun control legislation.

The deal would close the so-called gun show loophole, requiring that background checks are conducted on all commercial gun sales in the country, according to a fact sheet of the bill obtained by POLITICO from a representative of one of the gun control groups involved in the talks.
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill is expected to vote for the Senate plan.
Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt, and Kansas Senators Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran may oppose it.