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.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper attempted to shame Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, for drafting a bipartisan bill to combat sexual assault in the military with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., discusses his Senate resolution to condemn anti-Semitic rhetoric in Congress that he says is contributing to attacks on Jewish Americans.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Josh Hawley, in an interesting alliance as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to improve the military’s response to sexual assault.
The lawmakers – Gillibrand a vociferous Donald Trump opponent from New York, and Hawley a staunch Trump ally from Missouri – brought forth the Professionalizing the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Act, along with Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.; Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
The bill seeks to improve training and resources for the military’s sexual assault response coordinators after a Fort Hood Independent Review found that many members of the coordination team lack the training to help victims of assault. It tasks the Department of Defense with evaluating options to establish Sexual Assault