Proponents of military justice reform vow to fight on after Senate inaction

Supporters of a plan aimed at reducing sexual assault in the military are fuming after the proposal failed to get a vote in the Senate.

Proponents say they will continue to fight for the changes.

{mosads}“Today is a setback in our fight on survivors’ behalf, but it is no more than that,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the main sponsor of the proposal, said in a written statement. “I will continue to advocate for reform, and I refuse to back down or go away from fighting for survivors on this issue. Whether it is this president and Congress or the next, we will not give up until we can provide service members with a system of justice that is fair.”

The proposed changes to the military justice system were filed as an amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The measure would have taken the decision to prosecute sexual assaults and other serious crimes away from military commanders and given it to independent military prosecutors.

Supporters of the proposal say commanders don’t have the proper legal training to make such decisions and the current system discourages victims from coming forward. Opponents say taking the decision away from commanders would undermine the military justice system.

This was the third year in a row that Gillibrand filed the proposal as an amendment to the bill. In previous years, the amendment failed to muster the 60 votes necessary to pass.

Gillibrand and supporters were hoping this year would be different after reports surfaced alleging the had Pentagon misled Congress on the issue.

“Despite evidence uncovered by the Associated Press that the DoD misled members of the Senate on sexual assault cases, this simple reform was blocked from even being considered by this Senate,” she said. “They used to just filibuster the bill, but now they won’t even debate it – pushing this national scandal to the shadows.”

Fights among senators over a handful of amendments led to few receiving a vote this year before the overall bill passed on Tuesday.

In light of Congress’s inaction, Gillibrand called on President Obama address military sexual assaults as commander in chief.

“We know today that the men and women in the military who are sexually assaulted do not get a fair chance to get justice in the current system,” she said. “Today, I am saddened to say the same appears to be true from the U.S. Senate. Given this abject failure on behalf of Congress, I will again call on President Obama, the Commander of Chief, to fulfill his responsibility to service members and take action to give them a system of justice worthy of their sacrifice.”

Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group that’s been a staunch supporter of Gillibrand’s proposal, slammed Congress for failing to hold a vote and also called on Obama to take action.

“Mr. President, it is time for you, our Commander-in-Chief, to step up and lead,” Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders and a retired Air Force colonel, said in a written statement. “We know your administration cares about this issue. You have told our troops that you have their backs. However, during your presidency, the military sexual assault crisis has continued, and minimal reforms have not worked.”

“The fight goes on,” Christensen added.

The underlying bill that passed does include a number of changes to the military justice system in part meant to address sexual assault cases.

Some of the changes include making retaliation its own offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, providing training for those investigating claims of retaliation in connection with sexual assault and establishing metrics for measuring the outcomes of efforts to prevent and respond to retaliation.

Supporters of those changes hailed their inclusion in the bill Tuesday.

“This marks just the latest important step the Senate is taking in our sustained effort to root out sexual violence in our military,” Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said in a written statement. In addition to championing the changes in the bill, McCaskill has opposed Gillibrand’s proposal.

“We’ve worked hard to empower survivors to come out of the shadows and report these crimes, and to hold commanders accountable,” McCaskill added, “and this plan will offer new tools to help stamp out the stubborn rates of retaliation against victims who report.”

— Updated at 2:36 p.m.