WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today voted to advance bipartisan legislation that makes robust and comprehensive reforms to the military justice system to combat sexual assault in the military.

The Victims Protection Act of 2014, authored by Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), strengthens a series of groundbreaking reforms that were passed in the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed at curbing military sexual assault. For a comprehensive list of reforms enacted by the legislation, click HERE.

“Sexual assault within our armed forces has been a plague upon our nation for far too long, and as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have worked with my colleagues to pursue robust changes to combat this heinous crime,” Senator King said. “The Victims Protection Act, along with provisions in the NDAA, takes aggressive steps to hold offenders accountable, ensure that victims receive the support and resources they need, and create a culture within the ranks where sexual assault will be neither tolerated nor ignored.”

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Senator King has worked closely with his colleagues to identify and implement the most effective practices to reduce sexual assaults within the armed services.

Last year, he supported a slate of sweeping and historic reforms adopted by the Armed Services Committee, including bipartisan, bicameral provisions that significantly boosted accountability for perpetrators and protections for survivors. Reforms included in that package stripped commanders of their ability to overturn jury convictions, installed civilian review over decisions to not prosecute cases, mandated dishonorable discharge or dismissal for anyone convicted of sexual assault, made it a crime to retaliate against victims who report a sexual assault, provided a Special Victims Counsel to give independent legal advice to service members who report a sexual assault, and eliminated the statute of limitations in these cases.

King supports the Victims Protection Act of 2014 because he believes commanding officers must remain engaged in the decision-making process so they are held fully responsible and accountable for the decisions they make.

Last November, Senator King spoke on the Senate floor about the issue of sexual assault in the military, saying, “The only sure, long-term way to confront and defeat this tragic problem is through a change in the culture. It has to become unacceptable – unacceptable – in the culture of our armed services that sexual assault is tolerated or ignored.”

Additionally, last year he pressed members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to make cultural changes within the service to fully and effectively eradicate the tragic problem.

Senator King is also a cosponsor of the Ruth Moore Act. Named after veteran Ruth Moore of Milbridge, the legislation would make it easier for victims of military sexual assault to obtain the benefits they deserve.

###