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REMEMBERING PRIVATE NICOLE BURNHAM
(Mr. EMMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. EMMER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Private Nicole Burnham. Private Burnham didn't die on the battlefield. Her life was stolen by the cruelty of her fellow soldiers and the apathy of her superiors.
There are several tragedies in Nicole's story.
The first is the horrific sexual assault she endured at the hands of her fellow soldiers.
The second is the failure of our military leadership to protect her.
The third is the amount of time it took to ensure something like this never happens again.
Nicole did everything right. She reported the incident and applied for a transfer. Instead, her superiors, who are capable of deploying soldiers into a war zone overnight, let her request languish for an unconscionable 82 days. During that time, she was harassed, ostracized, and assaulted a second time.
A few months later, Nicole took her own life.
On October 2, the Third Annual Nicole Burnham Veteran Suicide 5k will take place along the Rum River in Anoka, Minnesota, the town where Nicole grew up.
We cannot forget Nicole's story, and we owe it to Nicole and her family to ensure her legacy is one that prevents injustices like she suffered from ever happening again.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 171
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