Niki Tsongas: “This year's NDAA takes unprecedented steps to address a disturbing prevalence of sexual assault in the military, and I…”

“This year's NDAA takes unprecedented steps to address a disturbing prevalence of sexual assault in the military, and I want to thank Chairman McKeon, Ranking Member Smith, Congressman Wilson, and Congresswoman Davis for including these provisions in the bill. I'd also like to thank my cochair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus, Congressman Mike Turner. In recent months, we have seen reports rise, military commanders and supervisors abuse their authority, and officers in charge of sexual assault prevention efforts allegedly commit the crimes they were sworn to stop. This is a systemic problem, and the NDAA takes real consequential actions in response. This NDAA begins to reform the power of a military commander, the first major bipartisan effort in decades to make such a significant change on the command structure. {time} 1820 Commanders will no longer have the authority to dismiss court-martial convictions for serious offenses, including sexual assault, and are prohibited from reducing guilty findings for serious offenses. It makes sure that those who are convicted of sexual assault will, at a minimum, be dishonorably discharged or dismissed. And this bill continues our push to provide victims of sexual assault with access to legal counsel, which is a critical step in the process of creating an environment that encourages victims to report these crimes and in bringing those responsible to justice.…”