House manages to join forces for military sexual assault victims

House passes bill to stop reprisals against military sexual assault victims
Army Times
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Jun. 28, 2013

By a 423-0 vote — and for the second time in a month — the House of Representatives has passed legislation that would require independent investigations if military rape or sexual assault victims allege retaliation for reporting the crimes.

The intention is to encourage the reporting of crimes and discourage reprisals.

Sponsored by Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., the legislation approved Thursday is identical to a provision included in the House version of the 2014 defense authorization bill passed June 14 and similar to a provision also included in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the annual defense policy bill.

Passing the free-standing measure is a sign lawmakers are serious about stopping sexual assault in the ranks, as well as an effort by House Republican leaders to boost the standing of Walorski, a freshman representative who won her congressional seat with less than 1 percent of the vote. This is her first stand-alone bill to pass the House.
read more here