Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Democrat, said Tuesday that she is re-introducing her proposal to reform the military justice system after seeing no improvements since her last bid failed almost a year ago.
Ms. Gillibrand’s bill would strip military commanders of their power to send a criminal case to trial. Trained military lawyers, not commanders, would decide whether or not to prosecute members of the military accused of crimes such as sexual assault and murder.
Supporters of her proposal say this is the only way to avoid favoritism, retaliation and make the military justice system fair to both victims and those accused of crimes.
“The reality is commanders can not solve this cancer because all too often, many of them are enablers,” said retired Col. Don Christensen, the former chief prosecutor of the Air Force.
In March, the same bill got only 55 votes, five short of the 60 it would have taken to clear a procedural hurdle and move the bill forward. Ms. Gillibrand said some senators wanted to wait and see if the recently-passed reforms would fix the problem, but that they would be more likely to support the bill if the system did not improve.
Ms. Gillibrand said recent high-profile cases — such as Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, who was accused of sexually assaulting a subordinate and got off with what many saw as a light sentence — show the military’s handling of sexual assault is still a problem.
“The military has not been able to demonstrate they’ve made a difference,” she said.
Opponents of the reforms say they will erode good order and discipline by stripping commanders of a power to control their troops.
Ms. Gillibrand supporters include a bipartisan group of senators who called themselves an “unusual coalition,” spanning the political spectrum. Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, said that when deciding to work across the aisle with Ms. Gillibrand, he thought about what legal protections he would want his two young daughters to have if they decided to serve.
“For decades, the promise has been: this will be fixed tomorrow,” he said. “What we’re doing now isn’t working.”
Ms. Gillibrand said she is hoping to get a vote on the proposal as an amendment to the annual defense policy bill, expected to be introduced Tuesday afternoon. It is unclear if leaders in the Senate will allow amendments to the must-pass bill in the limited time Congress will be in session this year.
If amendments are not allowed, Ms. Gillibrand said they are looking for a vote on a standalone bill.
She said she has pushed the president to publicly support her plan, saying that if he did, leadership at the Pentagon would get behind the changes and the system could be fixed overnight.
A spokesman for Ms. Gillibrand said it would not be possible to change the system with an executive order since the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which governs the military, must be changed by Congress.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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