WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called on the Senate today to pass the Military Justice Improvement Act, an amendment that will be offered to the National Defense Authorization Act that would establish an “impartial, fair, and accountable military justice system to address the crisis of sexual assault.”
The Military Justice Improvement Act, which is also supported by U.S. Sen Chuck Grassley and a bi-partisan group of Senators, would remove sole decision-making authority over whether serious crimes move forward to trial from the chain of command to independent, trained military prosecutors. The Senators are calling for another vote on the Military Justice Improvement Act after learning that the Senate held its previous votes under the influence of false and misleading information.
“We now know far more about the extent of the military’s sexual assault problem than we did a year ago when our bill was last filibustered, and it’s clear from the data and case files the Defense Department has given us that little has changed, despite their persistent claims that things are getting better,” said Senator Gillibrand (D-NY). “I’m calling for another vote on my bill because the Senate held its previous votes under the influence of false and misleading information. Not only did the Defense Department willfully mislead Congress in order to skew the debate, but they continue to do so by telling Congress that sexual assault survivors’ faith in the system is increasing – despite their own statistics showing the opposite. In the last few months alone, it was confirmed that a top Pentagon official gave false testimony at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing; the Defense Department released annual data that included another 6,083 sexual assault cases; and there continues to be overwhelming evidence that survivors don’t have confidence in the broken military justice system, are often unwilling to pursue justice when these violent crimes occur against them, and are fearful of retaliation if they do report. Congress must give the members of our military a justice system worthy of their service.”
“It is now crystal clear that the Pentagon knowingly relied upon false information to mislead Congress and derail reforms they oppose,” said Former Air Force Chief Prosecutor and Protect Our Defenders President Col Don Christensen.
According to the latest Department of Defense information, nearly eight out of ten military sexual assault survivors did not have enough trust in the system to report an assault. Fewer sexual assault victims this year were willing to put their names on reports seeking justice, compared to last year; and the percentage of victims willing to openly report the crimes against them declined for the past five years.
For additional information on the Military Justice Improvement Act, visit http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/mjia
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