Published: October 21, 2009 09:06 am      

WE THE PEOPLE: Whose side are our senators on?

Halliburton and KBR are names synonymous with corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there’s another dark and less well-known aspect of corporate malevolence associated with these military contractors.

Many American women working for these companies have been sexually assaulted with no action taken against their assailants. The precise number is unknown; however, when victim Jamie Leigh Jones formed a support group for other women with similar experiences, 40 of them soon contacted her.

These women employees of Halliburton/KBR and their subsidiaries or subcontractors tell harrowing stories of rape or sexual harassment. When they reported these crimes, the companies provided no help or even obstructed them in their pursuit of legal action.

Several women testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2008 while representatives from the Defense, State and Justice departments, forced to appear before the committee by Senator Bill Nelson, listened to their distressing stories.

None of these government entities had taken much interest in prosecuting these cases while arguing over who had jurisdiction. The Department of Defense has a particularly abysmal record in investigating such matters. In 2007, 2,688 sexual assaults were reported by women serving in the military. The vast majority of these offenses went unprosecuted.

In Jones’ case, she accused Halliburton/KBR co-workers in Iraq of gang rape while Mary Beth Kineston, a commercial trucker working for KBR, testified that a subcontractor employee raped her in her truck. She reported the incident to her employer who took no action.

There are laws under which these cases could be prosecuted, but many incidents are covered up by the companies. Sadly, most complaints die because of the fine print in employment contracts which force workers into private arbitration, coercing them into relinquishing their rights to a courtroom trial.

On Oct. 6, an amendment to the defense appropriations bill was passed in the Senate to help remedy this remarkable injustice. Amendment 2588 prohibits funds for any federal contract with these companies or any party if employment contracts require employees to sign mandatory arbitration clauses regarding certain claims.

You would think that this measure would be a no-brainer, but 30 Republican Senators chose to vote “nay.”

It might be expected that Senator David Vitter of Louisiana would do so. After all, his name was found on the DC Madam list of call girl customers. He decided to remain in the Senate, making his apology speech while his obviously pained wife appeared at his side. Respect for his humiliated spouse took a back seat to his political ambitions.

And Senator John Ensign of Nevada, in hot water for possible illegalities, also voted “nay.” Ensign has recently captured news headlines for finding a lobbying job for the husband of his mistress. Ensign, by the way, spoke in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 saying, “Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded.”

It’s obvious that these so-called family values politicians hold less than high regard for the women in their lives, but why did both of Tennessee’s Senators join these two and 26 others to vote against this amendment which would empower women to face their attackers and bring a measure of dignity to their demeaning experiences?

Are Alexander and Corker on the side of the military contractors? Or is this just another example of treating women’s issues as secondary concerns?

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This column represents alternative thoughts to other published columns in the Crossville Chronicle. "We the People" is published each Wednesday. Opinions expressed in "We the People" columns are not necessarily those of the Crossville Chronicle publisher, editor or staff. For more information, contact John Wund, editor, at jwund@frontiernet.net.