Bill Text: TX HCR51 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Urging the United States Congress to pass the I am Vanessa Guillén Act.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-14 - Signed by the Governor [HCR51 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HCR51-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Urging the United States Congress to pass the I am Vanessa Guillén Act.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-14 - Signed by the Governor [HCR51 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HCR51-Comm_Sub.html
By: Morales of Harris, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Alvarado) | H.C.R. No. 51 | |
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 22, 2021; | ||
May 3, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran | ||
Affairs & Border Security; May 21, 2021, reported adversely, with | ||
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, | ||
Nays 0; May 21, 2021, sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.C.R. No. 51 | By: Campbell |
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WHEREAS, The brutal murder of Vanessa Guillén and the | ||
reaction on social media highlight the needed support to the | ||
military's response to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and | ||
missing persons; and | ||
WHEREAS, Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén had been missing | ||
for more than two months before her remains were discovered, and the | ||
murder investigation received widespread attention when law | ||
enforcement identified the suspect, a fellow military member whom | ||
Guillén was planning to formally accuse of sexual harassment; this | ||
prompted countless members of the U.S. military to share their | ||
personal experiences of sexual harassment and sexual assault on | ||
social media with the hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen; and | ||
WHEREAS, A close look at current military laws and policies | ||
reveals concerns, including conflicts of interest and limited | ||
options for reporting sexual harassment; too many military members | ||
have been failed by this system, and immediate action is imperative | ||
to avoid another tragedy; and | ||
WHEREAS, To correct these issues, the I am Vanessa Guillén | ||
Act has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives; and | ||
WHEREAS, The brave men and women who fight for our nation | ||
deserve access to justice, and Congress should listen to the | ||
service members calling for change in the aftermath of Vanessa | ||
Guillén's murder; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass | ||
the I am Vanessa Guillén Act, legislation ensuring that necessary | ||
changes are made, such as preventing conflicts of interest, | ||
requiring independent investigations that are conducted by trained | ||
investigators, establishing a confidential reporting option for | ||
sexual harassment that can convert to a formal complaint, and | ||
directing the Government Accountability Office to evaluate | ||
response procedures related to missing service members; and, be it | ||
further | ||
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official | ||
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to | ||
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of | ||
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the | ||
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that | ||
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a | ||
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. | ||
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