WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) continued her career-long fight against sexual assault in the military this week, helping secure critical amendments in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA) that passed the Senate yesterday with a vote of 98 to 0. Specifically, Senator Snowe joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to introduce three amendments to NDAA that would improve tracking and review of sexual assault claims in the military and help insure victims receive the justice and care they deserve. With Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Snowe also secured a measure to mandate that any service member convicted of a sexual assault be removed from the military. Finally, Snowe joined Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to introduce an amendment to prohibit the Department of Defense (DOD) from allowing any individual who has been convicted of a sexual offense from joining the military.

Senator Snowe said:

“These bipartisan amendments will make great strides in helping to prevent sexual assault in the military, while also providing justice for victims – and I am pleased they passed the Senate. Our heroic service members selflessly defend our nation with limitless honor and courage, and we in Congress must do our part to ensure they are not the subjects of such horrific crimes. Since the mid-1990’s, I have fought tooth and nail in the Senate to make certain the necessary protections are in place, and these latest provisions mark another step forward for women serving in the military.”

BACKGROUND: Senator Snowe has been involved in efforts to defeat sexual assault in the military since the mid-1990s. Following a scandal at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, Senator Snowe, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, carried out a number of field visits and meetings in 1997 related to sexual assault. She then sought to change the culture in the military that protected the accused, rather than the victim. In May 1997, Senator Snowe introduced the Sexual Harassment Accountability Act, which required unit commanders to report sexual harassment incidents within 24 hours, with all such reports later transmitted to Congress. It also required the thorough and impartial investigation of any complaint involving rape, forcible sodomy, or assault with intent to commit rape or sodomy. These provisions were included in the Fiscal Year 1998 National Defense Authorization Act.

According to the Department of Defense, there were 3,192 official reports of sexual assaults in the military in 2011. Because most incidents are not reported to a military authority, the Pentagon estimates this number represents only 13 to 14 percent of total assaults – making the total estimated number of sexual assaults in the military over 19,000 in 2011.

The amendments Senator Snowe helped to secure in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 are:

• S. Amdt. 2981, cosponsored with Senator Boxer, to prohibit DOD from allowing any individual who has been convicted of a sexual offense to join the military.
   
• S. Amdt. 3016, cosponsored with Senator Gillibrand, to require that any service member who is convicted of a sexual offense be processed for administrative separation from the Armed Forces.

• S. Amdt. 3102, cosponsored with Senator Klobuchar, to require that DOD retain Restricted Reports on sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces for a minimum of 50 years. This will ensure that all veterans have long-term, private access to their medical forensic examination records for the purpose of filing VA disability claims.

• S. Amdt. 3105, cosponsored with Senator Klobuchar, to require DOD to establish a policy on prevention and response to sexual harassment, and requiring the collection of records on sexual harassment.

• S. Amdt. 3234, cosponsored with Senator Klobuchar, to expand annual reports on sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces to collect critical data for identifying future pathways for preventing sexual assault in the military. This provision also requires the Department to provide greater analysis on trends in the occurrence of sexual assault in the military, links between sexual assault and substance-abuse and sexual harassment, and improvements the Department asserts are needed to its own sexual assault programs.

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