US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) (R), talks with US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and US Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) after a press conference on the 29th April 2021 issue of Military Justice Improving and Increasing the Prevention Act.
Stefani Reynolds / Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Stefani Reynolds / Getty Images
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) (R), talks with US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and US Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) after a press conference on the 29th April 2021 issue of Military Justice Improving and Increasing the Prevention Act.
Stefani Reynolds / Getty Images
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, DN.Y., is leading a bipartisan coalition of more than 60 Senators and House members to urge congressional leaders to keep substantial reforms to the way the military is doing. prosecuting serious crimes, such as sexual assault, in this year’s defense bill.
In their letter Tuesday, Gillibrand and others noted that it would be “outrageous” to remove sweeping legislation, known as the Military Justice Improvement and Increased Prevention Act, from the project. defense law.
“Sexual assault in the military is a serious concern and requires a real solution, not a trickle clause introduced in the final bill behind closed doors,” Gillibrand said. , chair of personnel for the Senate Armed Services, said in a statement.
The proposal would keep serious crimes under military supervision but allow such cases to be handled by criminal justice attorneys with relevant expertise rather than commanders who often lack legal training. the law. The military justice reform effort has 66 cosponsors in the Senate, 220 in the House, and substantial support from major veterans groups.
And while much of the focus has been on sex-related crime, Gillibrand and supporters have said it will apply to all major crimes, such as murder, manslaughter and child pornography.
“This is the only reform that will give prosecutors real independence in the military justice system and is essential to ensuring that victims, defendants and public officials,” Gillibrand said. they all have faith and have complete confidence in the military justice process.”
Defense policy bill on display in Senate
Gillibrand’s military justice reform law is part of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, passed by a Senate committee earlier this year. However, the version of the NDAA that was passed by the House did not include the overarching provisions contained in Gillibrand’s proposal, even though several key members of the House, including Speakers Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif. And Representative Jackie Speier, D-Calif., supports reform.
Finally, if the defense bill passes the Senate, the final version will be put on the conference committee, setting up a battle for judicial reforms in this year’s annual law.
“Putting serious criminal cases into the hands of independent military prosecutors is a common-sense reform that will professionalize our military justice system,” the members wrote in the letter on Tuesday. . “The consensus among experts is that this reform will improve the system.”
Monday night, the Senate tried to move the annual defense bill forward after hitting a stumbling block ahead of the Thanksgiving break, with Republicans opposing a deal on the amendments. will be included in the law.
However, the plan failed to get the 60 votes needed in the equally divided chamber to move forward. That leaves Senate leaders with new challenges in reaching a master agreement to finally vote on the defense bill, which has been passed every year for the past six decades.
One month of effort in implementation
Earlier this year, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the military justice provision, giving Gillibrand a major victory.
For weeks this summer, Gillibrand publicly on the floor of the Senate with her Democratic colleague, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed of Rhode Island, to get approval for her measure. In July, the two were issued a joint statement praising the new agreement.
In the last week, a coalition of veterans groups, including American Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, AMVETS, Service Women’s Action Network and American Legion, also wrote congressional leaders urging them uphold the terms of the justice plan. In addition, the attorney generals of 29 states urged the same in another letter earlier this month.
The proposal has received support from key Republicans, such as the Iowa Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, two key figures in this endeavor.
The defense authorization bill has traditionally drawn broad bipartisan support, but improving the way the military handles felonies has previously met with steadfast opposition from Pentagon leaders. Corner and key congressional members since it was introduced eight years ago.
Much of those dynamics changed, however, after Gillibrand joined forces with Ernst, a sexual assault survivor before she became a veteran combat company commander. Ernst and others have pointed to the need for drastic change as statistics show sexual assault crimes are rising in the ranks despite other legal provisions.
“We are bound and determined,” Ernst tell NPR in the May.
It marked a game changer as a new wave of former holders joined forces with the duo to become co-sponsors, billed 60 votes needed to win the aisle on the Senate floor.
Advocates say the military will continue to see services face prosecution-related troubles without a plan. They also note that only a third of sexual assault victims in the military are willing to report their crimes, another sign of the troubles facing prosecuting criminals like so.
“That shows a clear lack of confidence in the current system’s ability to be impartial and deliver justice with impunity,” they said. “The only way we can reassure victims that they will get a fair review of their case is to ask an experienced judge to uphold the summoning authority in their case.”
