C Span Mccaskill Bill to Continue Military Pay
WASHINGTON –
The Senate on Monday easily approved Sen. Claire McCaskill's bill to revamp the way the military handles sexual assault cases.
The Missouri Democrat's proposal — which would eliminate the "good soldier" defense in which the accused can cite military performance as evidence of innocence in a trial — is expected to sail through the House.
But the fight over how the Pentagon handles sexual assault cases is far from over.
Monday's 97-to-0 vote in the Senate in favor of McCaskill's legislation comes after an emotional, acrimonious battle over a competing bill, which would have more dramatically revamped the military justice system. McCaskill helped defeat that measure, offered by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., last week.
Gillibrand said she plans to immediately mount a fresh campaign for her bill, using an annual defense authorization bill that sets policy for the Pentagon as a legislative vehicle to revive the debate.
Gillibrand's proposal would have stripped commanders of their authority to decide whether to move forward with a sexual assault case.
Military prosecutors would have the sole authority to determine whether to pursue charges.
Now, military lawyers make recommendations about bringing charges, but commanders must sign off before a case can move forward.
In December, Congress passed a sweeping package of reforms, supported by both Gillibrand and McCaskill, that barred commanders from dismissing court-martial convictions in cases of rape, sexual assault and other crimes.
It also made it a crime to retaliate against a victim for reporting an attack, and it gave victims their own independent legal counsel to shepherd them through a trial.
In working to defeat Gillibrand's bill, McCaskill and others argued that commanders need to keep their role in handling sexual assault cases, because it helps hold them accountable for creating a climate in which sexual assault cases are dealt with impartially and prosecuted aggressively.
McCaskill says she now plans to turn her attention to how well the Pentagon implements those reforms.
"This is a long list of sweeping changes," McCaskill said on Monday. "I want to really pay close attention to how quickly they get mainstreamed."
She said she expects an uptick in reporting of sexual assaults in the military, as more victims feel comfortable coming forward to report an attack.
And she hopes that will be followed by more prosecutions.
Gillibrand will also be closely monitoring any Pentagon progress — or lack thereof.
She has predicted the December-passed package will not make victims more likely to report an attack or reduce their fear of retaliation in such cases.
Gillibrand said some senators who opposed her bill told her they would switch sides if military leaders didn't make quick, concrete changes in their handling of this issue.
"Many people said ... 'I'm going to watch this and if it doesn't get better within the next six months, I'm with you next time'," Gillibrand said.
Military leaders, who opposed Gillibrand's bill, seem aware they are under intense pressure.
"We are currently on the clock, if you will," Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview on Friday with PBS' "NewsHour."
"We understand that ... just because Senator Gillibrand's bill was defeated yesterday doesn't mean that, a year from now, it may not be reintroduced," he said.
"And if we haven't been able to demonstrate we're making a difference, then we deserve to be held to the scrutiny and standard."
Gillibrand won a majority — 55 yes votes — for her proposal but fell short of the 60 needed for her bill to move forward.
She and others said that tally shows it's a matter of when, not if, her legislation will pass.
"We will not stop our efforts," Gillibrand told reporters after her bill was defeated last week.
In the meantime, she has also asked the Pentagon for records of all sexual assault cases over the last five years, including cases in which commanders declined to proceed with charges despite a prosecutor's recommendation.
She is also looking at what kinds of penalties have been imposed on those convicted of sexual assaults.
"We're going to look even deeper into what's actually happening," Gillibrand said.
To bolster her position, McCaskill has said that over the past two years military prosecutors have recommended against pursuing charges in 93 sexual assault cases, only to have commanders reverse those decisions.
McCaskill said she supported Gillibrand's efforts to get more information about how these cases are handled.
But she said she was more focused on making sure the enacted reforms are successful — and on getting her good-soldier bill through the House.
"We're going to try to see if we can get it fast tracked," she said.
A spokesman for the House Armed Services said the panel will take a look at the McCaskill bill in the coming days.
Reporter Deirdre Shesgreen writes about Missouri lawmakers and issues from Gannett's offices in Washington, D.C.
Source: https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/10/mccaskills-bill-on-military-sexual-assault-clears-senate-/6271595/