Susan Davis: “I want to thank Mr. Wilson and the committee staff for working in a bipartisan manner to develop this bill. The Buck…”

“I want to thank Mr. Wilson and the committee staff for working in a bipartisan manner to develop this bill. The Buck McKeon NDAA continues the committee's focus on sexual assault and includes such provisions as requiring the judicial panel to assess the use of mental health records by the defense in preliminary hearings and to compare this with the civilian use of mental health records in criminal proceedings; clarifying that the service academies, including the Coast Guard Academy, are subject to the same sexual harassment and assault requirements; requiring an inspector general review of the separation records of servicemembers who made unrestricted reports and determining whether such separation was in retaliation for filing said report; requiring performance appraisals of a commanding officer to include whether a command climate has been established in which allegations of sexual assault are properly managed and victims feel free to report; and requiring the Secretary of Defense to modify rule 404 of the Military Rules of Evidence to clarify that general military character of an accused is not admissible, except in cases where the military character of the accused is relevant to the offense being charged. Mr. Chairman, oversight of sexual assault in the military remains a priority of the committee, and we will continue to identify gaps that need to be addressed and to enable the Department of Defense to reduce these numbers.…”