AJ Taylor1 hour agoLast Updated: June 3, 2021
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst a survivor of sexual assault and a combat veteran and former commander in the Iowa Army National Guard, has joined fellow members of the Senate Armed Services Committee—including Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)—in introducing legislation to improve the U.S. military’s response to sexual assault.
This follows Ernst’s introduction of new, bipartisan legislation earlier this year with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Gillibrand to prevent military sexual assault and hold perpetrators accountable by moving the decision to prosecute serious crimes from the chain of command to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors—a bill that now has more than 64 cosponsors.