Brownley, Democratic Women’s Caucus, Democratic Senators, & House Democrats Blast Army for Sexual Misconduct Failures and Demand Accountability

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) joined Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), DWC Servicewomen, Women Veterans and Military Task Force Chair Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), DWC Progressive Caucus Liaison Jill Tokuda (HI-02), DWC members Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), and 58 members of the Democratic Women's Caucus, House Democrats, and Democratic Senators in a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General demanding accountability for the Army's failure to stop widespread sexual misconduct.

Recently, over 80 women joined a lawsuit alleging that Dr. Major Blaine McGraw made sexual advances, directed lewd comments towards them, and secretly recorded patients during exams while working at Ford Hood and Tripler Army Medical Center. Dr. McGraw was not suspended from his position until this October.

In their letter, the Members and Senators expressed their outrage over Army leadership's inaction despite numerous complaints from servicewomen and military wives that Dr. McGraw had sexually exploited women in his care for years. They also explained some of the unconscionable abuses women experienced, including details from the story of Jane Doe.

In their letter, the Members and Senators shared how the Army ignored Jane Doe's attempts to report her abuse:

"After reportedly being assaulted during a patient visit with Dr. McGraw, Jane Doe said she begged a desk attendant to make a report. Instead, she was told to 'call or send an email.' Jane Doe alleges she called the hospital seven different times but she was dismissed and hung up on each time. The purported lack of response and urgency to respond to these complaints would clearly violate reporting policy and the Army's Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program protocols."

The Members and Senators also expressed deep concern in their letter that this abuse is part of a recurring pattern of the Army failing to intervene in cases of sexual misconduct:

"In the lawsuit, female servicemembers and patients noted that a recurring issue was the lack of adequate response from Army leadership. Reportedly, when victims and their loved ones tried to make complaints with Army leadership, they were 'refused meetings at every level.' If true, these women deserve better. The alleged dismissive response from the Army demonstrates an immense failure at every level to properly support survivors."

The Members and Senators concluded the letter by demanding a full investigation, explanations on how complaints were handled, and stronger protections to ensure no woman faces this abuse again:

"The allegations against Dr. McGraw are extremely serious, and the Army's criminal investigation of this matter must continue unabated. That said, the separate concerns raised by survivors about members of the Army at many levels not timely acting on their complaints must be confronted immediately. Additionally, we request that DoD IG investigate to determine whether personnel within the Army properly followed procedures to timely report allegations of sexual misconduct to law enforcement and whether other SAPR procedures and existing protections were followed or not."

In addition to Julia Brownley and letter leads Mazie Hirono, Chrissy Houlahan, Jill Tokuda, Nanette Barragán, Lori Trahan, Veronica Escobar, and Sylvia Garcia, the letter was signed by Angela D. Alsobrooks,, Joyce Beatty, Nikki Budzinski, André Carson, Judy Chu, Maxine Dexter, Debbie Dingell, Sarah Elfreth, Lizzie Fletcher, Valerie Foushee, Lois Frankel, Laura Friedman, Robert Garcia, Kirsten Gillibrand, Adelita Grijalva, Val Hoyle, Jonathan Jackson, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Julie Johnson, Timothy Kennedy, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Lucy McBath, Sarah McBride, Betty McCollum, James McGovern, LaMonica McIver, Gwen Moore, Kelly Morrison, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, Nellie Pou, Delia Ramirez, Emily Randall, Deborah Ross, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Jeanne Shaheen, Lateefah Simon, Melanie Stansbury, Rashida Tlaib, Norma Torres, Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nikema Williams, Frederica Wilson, and Ron Wyden.

The full letter can be found here and below:

Mr. Steven Stebbins
Acting Inspector General
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of Inspector General
4800 Mark Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22350-1500

Dear Mr. Stebbins:

We write to express our strong concerns about the Army's purported failure to timely intervene in the
alleged misconduct of Dr. Major Blaine McGraw at Fort Hood and Tripler Army Medical Center,
allegations, which if true, would possibly constitute the largest sexual misconduct case in U.S. military
history. According to reports, for years, Dr. McGraw allegedly sexually exploited women, including
servicewomen and military wives, in his care. When these women attempted to report their concerns and
experiences were purportedly repeatedly ignored and Dr. McGraw was kept on staff. The Army, like the
other Services, has a history of failing to adequately address sexual misconduct in the ranks, which
required Congress to step in and institute hundreds of reforms over the last fifteen years, culminating in
the establishment of the Office of the Special Trial Counsel in the FY22 National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA). One of those issues involved military services being slow to intervene in cases at an early
stage. This appears to have happened in this case since Dr. McGraw was not suspended until this
October. This delayed response is unacceptable, and we need answers. Separate, and not to interfere with
the ongoing Army criminal investigation into the alleged misconduct of Dr. McGraw, we request the
Department of Defense Office of Inspector General review if appropriate Military Health System
policies were followed, to include whether patient complaints were timely evaluated and considered,
and provide recommendations to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to prevent further instances
like this from occurring in the future.

This month over 80 women joined a lawsuit together alleging that Dr. McGraw made lewd sexual
advances and comments towards them, as well as secretly recorded patients during exams.4 One example
of the women's horrific experiences is captured through Jane Doe's story. After reportedly being
assaulted during a patient visit with Dr. McGraw, Jane Doe said she begged a desk attendant to make a
report. Instead, she was told to "call or send an email." Jane Doe alleges she called the hospital seven
different times but she was dismissed and hung up on each time. The purported lack of response and urgency to respond to these complaints would clearly violate reporting policy and the Army's Sexual
Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program protocols.

In the lawsuit, female servicemembers and patients noted that a recurring issue was the lack of adequate
response from Army leadership. Reportedly, when victims and their loved ones tried to make complaints
with Army leadership, they were "refused meetings at every level." If true, these women deserve better.
The alleged dismissive response from the Army demonstrates an immense failure at every level to
properly support survivors.

The allegations against Dr. McGraw, and the Army's purported failure to timely address survivor
complaints, are not isolated. A separate investigation deemed Fort Hood as a notoriously "permissive
environment" for sexual harassment and assault. The base has been plagued by this issue for years. For
example, in 2020, Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén was murdered by a fellow soldier while stationed at
Fort Hood. Throughout her time on base, Specialist Guillén was sexually harassed by a separate
supervisor. Specialist Guillén's tragic murder was the impetus for the aforementioned changes in the
FY22 NDAA. However, even with these positive reforms, it is clear more needs to be done. The fact that
this reported abuse occurred at the same base as Specialist Guillen's murder is appalling. All women
should be safe on a military base, and they surely should be able to safely seek treatment without fear of
sexual assault or abuse.

The allegations against Dr. McGraw are extremely serious, and the Army's criminal investigation of this
matter must continue unabated. That said, the separate concerns raised by survivors about members of the Army at many levels not timely acting on their complaints must be confronted immediately.
Additionally, we request that DoD IG investigate to determine whether personnel within the Army
properly followed procedures to timely report allegations of sexual misconduct to law enforcement and
whether other SAPR procedures and existing protections were followed or not. We therefore request a
response to the following questions from the Defense Health Agency and the Inspector General within 60
days of receipt:

1. Please provide the range of dates for the sexual harassment/assault complaints filed, including the number of complaints received at Fort Hood and Tripler Army Medical Center relating to Dr. McGraw.
2. What was the Military Treatment Facility management's response to each complaint at Fort Hood and Tripler Army Medical Center?
3. How did the Military Treatment Facility management at Fort Hood and Tripler Army Medical
   Center follow appropriate policies to supervise staff, prevent patient harm, and address patient
   complaints?
4. What are the next steps the Military Treatment Facility management at Fort Hood and Tripler
   Army Medical Center will take to further protect patients from sexual assault?
5. How will the Defense Health Agency ensure that no Military Treatment Facility will ignore sexual abuse allegations again?
6. How will the Defense Health Agency prevent future concealment and employment of sexual abusers on their staff across Military Treatment Facilities?
7. Was a quality assurance investigation initiated? If so, please share the status with the House Armed Services Committee.
8. Why did the Army fail to take disciplinary actions against Dr. McGraw until his October 2025 suspension?

We are committed to demanding justice for victims of sexual assault and harassment, and we will not stay silent while the safety of women is at risk. Again, we request prompt and thorough answers to these questions to prevent further harm and hold those responsible for this accountable.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.

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Issues: 119th Congress, Military