Defense bill wins approval of Senate

WASHINGTON – Congress is sending President Barack Obama a comprehensive defense bill that would crack down on sexual assault in the military and add protections for victims.

The Senate voted 84-15 Thursday night for the legislation, which capped a yearlong campaign led by the women of the Senate to address the scourge of rape and sexual assault in the ranks.

The White House had expressed support for the legislation, which would provide $552.1 billion for the regular military budget and $80.7 billion for the war in Afghanistan and other overseas operations, a reflection of deficit-driven efforts to trim spending and the drawdown in a conflict lasting more than a decade.

The bill covers combat pay, ships, aircraft and bases and would provide a 1 percent pay raise to military personnel.

The House passed the bill last week on a strong bipartisan vote.

The military’s handling of high-profile cases of assault and other crimes had angered Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate, setting in motion what will be sweeping changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The congressional effort was marked by one of the most contentious hearings, when senators dressed down senior military leaders and insisted that sexual assault in the military had cost the services the trust and respect of the American people as well as the nation’s men and women in uniform.

Summoned to Capitol Hill in June, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the beribboned four-star chiefs of the service branches conceded in an extraordinary hearing that they had faltered in dealing with sexual assault. One said assaults were “like a cancer” in the military.

The legislation would strip military commanders of their ability to overturn jury convictions, require a civilian review if a commander declines to prosecute a case and require that any individual convicted of sexual assault face a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. The bill also would provide victims with legal counsel, eliminate the statute of limitations for courts-martial in rape and sexual assault cases and criminalize retaliation against victims who report a sexual assault.

The Pentagon has estimated that 26,000 members of the military may have been sexually assaulted last year, though thousands were afraid to come forward for fear of inaction or retribution.

The bill also would change the military’s Article 32 proceedings to limit intrusive questioning of victims, making it more similar to a grand jury

The bill would give Obama additional flexibility in deciding the fate of terror suspects at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but it stops well short of the administration’s goal of closing the installation.