Senate rejects military sexual-assault proposal

Brian Tumulty | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday for the second time in two years to reject an effort to change how the military handles sexual assault cases.

Under a bill proposed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., decision-making power over which cases to prosecute would shift from commanders to military prosecutors.

Gillibrand's proposal received support from 50 senators, well short of the 60 she needed to pass her amendment to the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a supporter of the proposal, predicted the shift in decision-making power would eventually occur, perhaps after a new president is elected in 2016. Cruz is among the many Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for that election.

"Change is coming in January 2017 when a new commander in chief will be sworn into office," Cruz said. "And whoever that commander in chief is, he or she has an obligation to protect all of the men and women serving in the military."

Gillibrand's proposal drew five fewer supporters in Tuesday's vote than it drew last year.

Although two Republicans who opposed the proposal last year — John Thune of South Dakota and Mark Kirk of Illinois — now support it, only three of the 10 new senators elected in November voted in favor.

A year ago, Congress adopted nearly three-dozen reforms affecting how the military handles sexual assaults, including a requirement that victims be appointed special attorneys to advise them of their rights.

Congress also eliminated use of the "good soldier" defense in decisions on whether to prosecute most cases and clarified that prosecution of sexual assault cases also applies to military academies.

Gillibrand's proposal was the only significant proposed change that Congress did not adopt last year.

Opponents said Tuesday that the recent reforms are beginning to yield results.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., noted that reporting of incidents has risen 70% since 2012.

"Incidents are down — that's meaningful progress," she said. "Victims are coming forward because they have renewed confidence."

But Gillibrand said retaliation against people reporting sexual assaults did not drop from 2012 to 2014. And the military did not prosecute a single retaliation claim last year, she said.

She agreed that the reforms enacted last year are significant.

"We've made a lot of changes to the military justice system that are going to make the reporting of these cases easier for survivors," Gillibrand said in an interview. "They are now going to have special victim's counsels. But I don't see 20,000 rapes, sexual assaults and unwanted sexual contacts in a year as progress. I think it's outrageous. It's the same number we had as in 2010."

President Obama promised a year ago that he would address the issue, Gillibrand said.

"Well, a year has long passed and we haven't seen the kind of changes that we need," she said, adding that she expects "more leadership."