National Defense Authorization Act Awaits Obama’s Signature

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Senate Armed Services Committee member, has announced final Congressional passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, which includes her legislation requiring that any service member convicted of a sexual assault be processed for discharge from the military.

The bill now heads to the President’s desk for his signature.

In 2011, more than 3,000 military sexual assaults were reported, with the Department of Defense’s own estimates putting the actual number of assaults closer to 19,000. Currently, all service branches have varied policies when it comes to processing and punishing a convicted sex offender.

Despite these policies, 36 percent of convicted sex offenders remained in the Armed Forces in Fiscal Year 2011, according to the most recent Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. Gillibrand’s provision would create a uniform standard among all service branches, requiring the Army and Air Force to adopt the Navy’s policy mandating that a service member convicted of a sexual assault be processed for a discharge. The service member would get due process, but such a process would be required and the decision would be made by an impartial group of officers.