Prevention of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1526 To enhance efforts to prevent sexual assault in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 16, 2019 Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To enhance efforts to prevent sexual assault in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevention of Sexual 4 Assault in the Armed Forces Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFENSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVEN- 6 TION OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT REQUIRED.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 9 shall establish and maintain within the Department 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1526 IS of Defense an advisory committee to be known as 1 the ‘‘Defense Advisory Committee for the Prevention 2 of Sexual Misconduct’’ (in this section referred to as 3 the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 4 (2) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The 5 Secretary shall establish the Advisory Committee not 6 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 7 of this Act. 8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 10 shall consist of not more than 20 members, ap- 11 pointed by the Secretary from among individuals 12 who have an expertise appropriate for the work of 13 the Advisory Committee, including at least one indi- 14 vidual with each expertise as follows: 15 (A) Expertise in the prevention of sexual 16 assault and behaviors on the sexual assault con- 17 tinuum of harm. 18 (B) Expertise in the prevention of suicide. 19 (C) Expertise in the change of culture of 20 large organizations. 21 (D) Expertise in implementation science. 22 (2) BACKGROUND OF INDIVIDUALS.—Individ- 23 uals appointed to the Advisory Committee may in- 24 clude individuals with expertise in sexual assault 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1526 IS prevention efforts of institutions of higher education, 1 public health officials, and such other individuals as 2 the Secretary considers appropriate. 3 (3) PROHIBITION ON MEMBERSHIP OF MEM- 4 BERS OF ARMED FORCES ON ACTIVE DUTY.—A 5 member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty 6 may not serve as a member of the Advisory Com- 7 mittee. 8 (c) DUTIES.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 10 shall advise the Secretary on the following: 11 (A) The prevention of sexual assault (in- 12 cluding rape, forcible sodomy, other sexual as- 13 sault, and other sexual misconduct (including 14 behaviors on the sexual assault continuum of 15 harm)) involving members of the Armed Forces. 16 (B) The policies, programs, and practices 17 of each military department, each Armed Force, 18 and each military service academy for the pre- 19 vention of sexual assault as described in sub- 20 paragraph (A). 21 (2) BASIS FOR PROVISION OF ADVICE.—For 22 purposes of providing advice to the Secretary pursu- 23 ant to this subsection, the Advisory Committee shall 24 review, on an ongoing basis, the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1526 IS (A) Cases involving allegations of sexual 1 assault described in paragraph (1). 2 (B) Efforts of institutions of higher edu- 3 cation to prevent sexual assault among stu- 4 dents. 5 (C) Any other information or matters that 6 the Advisory Committee or the Secretary con- 7 siders appropriate. 8 (3) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS.—In addition 9 to the reviews required by paragraph (2), for pur- 10 poses of providing advice to the Secretary the Advi- 11 sory Committee shall also consult and coordinate 12 with the Defense Advisory Committee on Investiga- 13 tion, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in 14 the Armed Forces (DAC–IPAD) on matters of joint 15 interest to the two Advisory Committees. 16 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 30 17 each year, the Advisory Committee shall submit to the 18 Secretary and the Committees on Armed Services of the 19 Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the 20 activities of the Advisory Committee pursuant to this sec- 21 tion during the preceding year. 22 (e) SEXUAL ASSAULT CONTINUUM OF HARM.—In 23 this section, the term ‘‘sexual assault continuum of harm’’ 24 includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1526 IS (1) inappropriate actions (such as sexist jokes), 1 sexual harassment, gender discrimination, hazing, 2 cyber bullying, or other behavior that contributes to 3 a culture that is tolerant of, or increases risk for, 4 sexual assault; and 5 (2) maltreatment or ostracism of a victim for a 6 report of sexual misconduct. 7 SEC. 3. NOTICE TO VICTIMS OF ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT 8 OF PENDENCY OF FURTHER ADMINISTRA- 9 TIVE ACTION FOLLOWING A DETERMINATION 10 NOT TO REFER TO TRIAL BY COURT-MAR- 11 TIAL. 12 Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of De- 13 fense, upon a determination not to refer a case of alleged 14 sexual assault for trial by court-martial under chapter 47 15 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Mili- 16 tary Justice), the commander making such determination 17 shall periodically notify the victim of the status of a final 18 determination on further action on such case, whether 19 non-judicial punishment under section 815 of such title 20 (article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), other 21 administrative action, or no further action. Such notifica- 22 tions shall continue not less frequently than monthly until 23 such final determination. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1526 IS SEC. 4. AUTHORITY FOR DETAIL OF CERTAIN ENLISTED 1 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AS STU- 2 DENTS AT LAW SCHOOLS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 101 of title 10, United 4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2004 5 the following new section: 6 ‘‘§ 2004a. Detail as students at law schools: certain 7 enlisted members 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of each military 9 department may, under regulations prescribed by the Sec- 10 retary of Defense, detail enlisted members of the armed 11 forces as students at accredited law schools, located in the 12 United States, for a period of training leading to the de- 13 gree of bachelor of laws or juris doctor. No more than 14 twenty-five officers from each military department may 15 commence such training in any single fiscal year. 16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR DETAIL.—To be eligible for 17 detail under subsection (a), a member must be a citizen 18 of the United States and must— 19 ‘‘(1) as of the time training is to begin— 20 ‘‘(A) have served on active duty for a pe- 21 riod of not less than four years nor more than 22 eight years; 23 ‘‘(B) be in pay grade E–5 or E–6; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1526 IS ‘‘(C) meet all requirements for acceptance 1 of a commission as a commissioned officer in 2 the armed forces; and 3 ‘‘(2) sign an agreement that, unless sooner sep- 4 arated, the member will— 5 ‘‘(A) complete the educational course of 6 legal training; 7 ‘‘(B) upon completion of the educational 8 course of legal training— 9 ‘‘(i) accept a commission as a commis- 10 sioned officer in the armed forces; and 11 ‘‘(ii) accept transfer or detail as a 12 judge advocate or law specialist within the 13 department concerned; and 14 ‘‘(C) agree to serve on active duty fol- 15 lowing completion or other termination of the 16 educational course of legal training for a period 17 of two years for each year or part thereof of 18 such training. 19 ‘‘(c) SELECTION.—Members detailed for legal train- 20 ing under subsection (a) shall be selected on a competitive 21 basis by the Secretary of the military department con- 22 cerned, under the regulations required by subsection (a). 23 ‘‘(d) SERVICE AND SERVICE OBLIGATIONS.—(1) Ex- 24 cept as provided in paragraph (2), any service obligation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1526 IS incurred by a member under an agreement entered into 1 under subsection (b) shall be in addition to any service 2 obligation incurred by the member under any other provi- 3 sion of law or agreement. 4 ‘‘(2)(A) A member who does not successfully com- 5 plete a course of legal training to which detailed pursuant 6 to this section shall cease such detail and return to the 7 armed force concerned as an enlisted member. 8 ‘‘(B) Any time of a member described by subpara- 9 graph (A) in a course of legal training described in that 10 subparagraph shall not count toward satisfaction of any 11 period of service required under the current contract or 12 agreement of the member for enlistment in the armed 13 forces. 14 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON NUMBER DETAILABLE.—The 15 aggregate number of enlisted members detailed under this 16 section and commissioned officers detailed under section 17 2004 of this title in any fiscal year by a Secretary of a 18 military department may not exceed 25. 19 ‘‘(f) OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—Sub- 20 sections (d) and (f) of section 2004 of this title shall apply 21 to the detail of members under this section, except that 22 any reference in such section to an ‘officer’ shall be 23 deemed to be a reference to an ‘enlisted member’ for such 24 purposes.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1526 IS (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2004 of such title is 2 amended— 3 (A) in subsection (a), by striking the sec- 4 ond sentence; and 5 (B) in subsection (f)— 6 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’; and 7 (ii) by adding at the end the following 8 new paragraph: 9 ‘‘(2) The aggregate number of commissioned officers 10 detailed under this section and enlisted members detailed 11 under section 2004s of this title in any fiscal year by a 12 Secretary of a military department may not exceed 25.’’. 13 (2) HEADING AMENDMENT.—The heading of 14 section 2004 of such title is amended to read as fol- 15 lows: 16 ‘‘§ 2004. Detail as students at law schools: commis- 17 sioned officers’’. 18 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 19 at the beginning of chapter 101 of such title is amended 20 by striking the item relating to section 2004 and inserting 21 the following new items: 22 ‘‘2004. Detail as students at law schools: commissioned officers. ‘‘2004a. Detail as students at law schools: certain enlisted members.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS