{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://herrerabeutler.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=340953", "U.S. House of Representatives Takes Action to Address Sexual Assault in the Military", "2013-06-27", "2013", "2013-06", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Jaime Herrera Beutler", "H001056", "herrerabeutler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Jaime Herrera Beutler voted with her colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to unanimously pass legislation that protects service members who blow the whistle on military sexual assault.\u00a0 Jaime is a cosponsor of the bill, H.R. 1864, that adds rape, sexual assault, and other sexual misconduct to the protected communications of service members with a Member of Congress or an Inspector General.\u00a0 The whistleblower protection ensures a victim\u2019s right to report these crimes to authorities without military interference.\u00a0\u00a0 In recent months, alarming information has come to light regarding the prevalence of sexual assault in the military.\u00a0 A recent Pentagon report revealed that military sexual assaults have increased by 37% over a two year period.\u00a0 However, fewer than one in six cases is reported to authorities.\u00a0 Studies have shown that service members who report rapes or sexual assaults face retaliation a majority of the time, necessitating the need for an improved reporting process.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  In addition to today\u2019s bill, Jaime also supported several important military sexual assault protections that were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Jaime voted in favor of and passed the House on June 14th.\u00a0 In the NDAA, minimum sentencing guidelines would be established in the Uniform Code of Military Justice for sex related offenses.\u00a0 Currently, only murder and espionage carry minimum sentences.\u00a0 Service members would be able to apply for a permanent change of station or unit if they were a victim of rape or sexual assault.\u00a0 Lastly, commanders would be stripped of their authority to dismiss the findings of a court-martial or from reducing guilty findings to a less offense. \u201cFor far too long, the epidemic of military sexual assaults has been ignored, and I won\u2019t let our federal government ignore it any longer,\u201d said Jaime. \u201cI still believe that stronger action is needed, but I\u2019m pleased to help this effort in Congress to provide more protections to the victims of these horrific acts and punish perpetrators more severely.\u00a0 These bills are an important first step.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://herrerabeutler.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=340953"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8455340284854174, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}