WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the House of Representatives passed S. 1605, the bipartisan, bicameral text of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22). The most sweeping policy changes in the bill are the transformational reforms to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to combat sexual assault in the military. For years Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD) have not adequately addressed this issue. These reforms will ensure that survivors of sexual assault achieve justice and perpetrators are held accountable.
Once the FY22 NDAA is signed into law, sexual harassment will become a crime under the UCMJ — and any investigations into these crimes will be completed separate from the chain of command. It removes the Commander from prosecutorial decisions related to sex crimes and creates an independent office to investigate and ensure they get the full attention that they deserve.
See below for the statements of support for the provisions in the bill related to UCMJ reform:
Protect Our Defenders
"Today is the culmination of years of advocacy from military sexual assault survivors, their families and supporters. Military sexual assault survivors took on the world’s largest employer with the world’s largest budget and won a major victory," said Col. Don Christensen (ret.), the former Chief Prosecutor of the United States Air Force and President of Protect Our Defenders. "The provisions included in this year’s NDAA are the most transformative military justice reforms in our nation’s history. This is what happens when we champion survivors and ensure their voices are heard. Empowering independent military prosecutors represents a momentous step forward in addressing the military sexual assault crisis."
Protect Our Defenders (POD) is the pre-eminent national human rights organization dedicated to ending sexual violence, victim retaliation, misogyny, sexual prejudice, and racism in the military and combating a culture that has allowed it to persist. Colonel Don Christensen (ret.), the former Chief Prosecutor of the United States Air Force, currently serves as President.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
"We appreciate Congress’s and the Administration’s commitment to promoting safety and justice for victims and survivors who experience abuse at the hands of service members," said Ruth M. Glenn, President and CEO of NCADV. "For too long, many of these victims and survivors have been ignored and had their cases swept under the rug. These changes will help to ensure survivors are heard and recognized."
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is the nation’s leading grassroots voice on domestic violence with the mission to lead, mobilize and raise our voices to support efforts that demand a change of conditions that lead to domestic violence such as patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism. The NCADV is dedicated to supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable and supporting advocates.
Mayra Guillen (via Twitter)
"House of Representatives has passed #NDAA including #IamVanessaGuillen honoring my sister. I can have some peace tonight. We will still keep working, this is not the end but a HUGE step in history. @WhistleblowerLF couldn’t have happened without you. Thank you. These tears are of both joy and sadness combined… this long-awaited time."
Mayra Guillen is the sister of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old U.S. Army soldier who was murdered on April 22, 2020, inside a Fort Hood, Texas, armory by another enlisted soldier.
The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV)
"Tragically, Vanessa Guillen lost her life because the military failed to take the problem of sexual violence seriously enough," said Monika Johnson Hostler, NAESV President. "She deserved better, and we believe these policies will mean survivors are more likely to be protected, supported, and receive justice. This is a historic victory."
The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence is the voice in Washington for the 56 state and territorial sexual assault coalitions and 1500 rape crisis centers working to end sexual violence and support survivors.
Lynn Rosenthal, Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military
"While not perfect, the agreement is far from a setback for survivors and their advocates. Instead, it represents a historic step toward justice."
Lynn Rosenthal is the chairwomen of an independent review commission initiated by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to come up with recommendations on the issue of sexual assault within the military.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"The House, under the leadership of Chairman Adam Smith, has passed a strong, bipartisan defense bill that will keep America safe, defend our servicemembers and their families and advance our nation’s leadership in the world…We are particularly proud that this legislation, thanks to Congresswoman Jackie Speier, contains historic and sweeping reforms to combat sexual assault in the military, including removing the Commander from key decisions related to sexual assault and related crimes and criminalizing sexual harassment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
Representative Jackie Speier, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel
"The clarion call of sexual assault survivors has been heard: Congress will finally move those cases out of the chain of command. This annual defense policy bill includes historic military justice reforms; the most significant since the creation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 1950. Survivors of sexual assault will finally be guaranteed that an independent military attorney, outside of the victim’s and the assailant’s chain of command, will decide whether to prosecute and make other key, binding decisions in these case…I introduced amendments year after year in the National Defense Authorization Act, with little to no support from Republicans and Democrats. Today, that changes with Democrats and Republicans coming together to finally right generations of injustice…Though this agreement clearly does not include everything my colleagues and I pushed for, it is a giant leap forward for survivors of sexual assault and marks a watershed moment in the fight for justice for those failed by the current system, and the family members of those slain or who died by suicide as a result of that failure…"
Once the FY22 NDAA is signed into law, sexual harassment will become a crime under the UCMJ — and any investigations into these crimes will be completed separate from the chain of command. It removes the Commander from prosecutorial decisions related to sex crimes and creates an independent office to investigate and ensure they get the full attention that they deserve.
See below for the statements of support for the provisions in the bill related to UCMJ reform:
Protect Our Defenders
"Today is the culmination of years of advocacy from military sexual assault survivors, their families and supporters. Military sexual assault survivors took on the world’s largest employer with the world’s largest budget and won a major victory," said Col. Don Christensen (ret.), the former Chief Prosecutor of the United States Air Force and President of Protect Our Defenders. "The provisions included in this year’s NDAA are the most transformative military justice reforms in our nation’s history. This is what happens when we champion survivors and ensure their voices are heard. Empowering independent military prosecutors represents a momentous step forward in addressing the military sexual assault crisis."
Protect Our Defenders (POD) is the pre-eminent national human rights organization dedicated to ending sexual violence, victim retaliation, misogyny, sexual prejudice, and racism in the military and combating a culture that has allowed it to persist. Colonel Don Christensen (ret.), the former Chief Prosecutor of the United States Air Force, currently serves as President.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
"We appreciate Congress’s and the Administration’s commitment to promoting safety and justice for victims and survivors who experience abuse at the hands of service members," said Ruth M. Glenn, President and CEO of NCADV. "For too long, many of these victims and survivors have been ignored and had their cases swept under the rug. These changes will help to ensure survivors are heard and recognized."
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is the nation’s leading grassroots voice on domestic violence with the mission to lead, mobilize and raise our voices to support efforts that demand a change of conditions that lead to domestic violence such as patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism. The NCADV is dedicated to supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable and supporting advocates.
Mayra Guillen (via Twitter)
"House of Representatives has passed #NDAA including #IamVanessaGuillen honoring my sister. I can have some peace tonight. We will still keep working, this is not the end but a HUGE step in history. @WhistleblowerLF couldn’t have happened without you. Thank you. These tears are of both joy and sadness combined… this long-awaited time."
Mayra Guillen is the sister of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old U.S. Army soldier who was murdered on April 22, 2020, inside a Fort Hood, Texas, armory by another enlisted soldier.
The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV)
"Tragically, Vanessa Guillen lost her life because the military failed to take the problem of sexual violence seriously enough," said Monika Johnson Hostler, NAESV President. "She deserved better, and we believe these policies will mean survivors are more likely to be protected, supported, and receive justice. This is a historic victory."
The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence is the voice in Washington for the 56 state and territorial sexual assault coalitions and 1500 rape crisis centers working to end sexual violence and support survivors.
Lynn Rosenthal, Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military
"While not perfect, the agreement is far from a setback for survivors and their advocates. Instead, it represents a historic step toward justice."
Lynn Rosenthal is the chairwomen of an independent review commission initiated by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to come up with recommendations on the issue of sexual assault within the military.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"The House, under the leadership of Chairman Adam Smith, has passed a strong, bipartisan defense bill that will keep America safe, defend our servicemembers and their families and advance our nation’s leadership in the world…We are particularly proud that this legislation, thanks to Congresswoman Jackie Speier, contains historic and sweeping reforms to combat sexual assault in the military, including removing the Commander from key decisions related to sexual assault and related crimes and criminalizing sexual harassment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
Representative Jackie Speier, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel
"The clarion call of sexual assault survivors has been heard: Congress will finally move those cases out of the chain of command. This annual defense policy bill includes historic military justice reforms; the most significant since the creation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 1950. Survivors of sexual assault will finally be guaranteed that an independent military attorney, outside of the victim’s and the assailant’s chain of command, will decide whether to prosecute and make other key, binding decisions in these case…I introduced amendments year after year in the National Defense Authorization Act, with little to no support from Republicans and Democrats. Today, that changes with Democrats and Republicans coming together to finally right generations of injustice…Though this agreement clearly does not include everything my colleagues and I pushed for, it is a giant leap forward for survivors of sexual assault and marks a watershed moment in the fight for justice for those failed by the current system, and the family members of those slain or who died by suicide as a result of that failure…"
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