{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-meeks-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-reform-broken-military-justice", "Miller-Meeks Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Reform Broken Military Justice System", "2021-06-23", "2021", "2021-06", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Mariannette Miller-Meeks", "M001215", "millermeeks.house.gov", "millermeeks", "https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Today, June 23rd, 2021, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), a retired Army Lt. Colonel, joined Reps. Jackie Speier (CA-14), Mike Turner (OH-10), Anthony Brown (MD-04), Trent Kelly (MS-01), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Markwayne Mullin (OK-02), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Richard Hudson (NC-09), and Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), to introduce the bipartisan Vanessa Guill\u00e9n Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act. This legislation moves the decision to prosecute serious crimes in the military from the chain of command to independent, trained, and professional military prosecutors.\n\nThis legislation is the House companion to S.1520, which was introduced in April by Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and has a total of 65 co-sponsors.\n\n\u201cAs a 24-year Army veteran, I understand the trauma that too many of our servicemembers have endured. What happened to Vanessa, and has happened to so many others, is tragic, and we must do more to keep our servicemembers safe and get them the justice they deserve,\u201d said Miller-Meeks. \u201cI am proud to join such a large and bipartisan group of members to introduce the Vanessa Guill\u00e9n Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act to reform our military justice system for the better. This system has been broken for too long, and the time to act is now.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a former combat commander and a survivor of sexual assault, I understand the traumatic experiences too many of our servicemembers have faced. Sexual assault has no place in our military, and it\u2019s far past time we take more steps toward preventing and reducing these heart-wrenching crimes,\u201d said Ernst. \u201cThis new, bipartisan bill will bolster prevention programs, education, and training; improve how we hold perpetrators accountable while ensuring commanders still have visibility of what\u2019s going on in their unit; and equip military prosecutors with the skills necessary to handle sexual and domestic violence cases. I\u2019m grateful to my fellow Iowan and veteran Congresswoman Miller-Meeks for helping lead this effort. With the support of so many in the House, and over sixty of my fellow senators, it\u2019s clear the time to pass this legislation is now.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor eight years, we\u2019ve been pushing for real change in the military justice system to ensure justice for survivors of sexual assault and abuse,\u201d said Grassley. \u201cIt\u2019s utterly unacceptable that so many of those who serve our country in uniform have dealt with a system that\u2019s broken. Alongside our counterparts in the House of Representatives, I hope this is finally the year we can deliver the necessary change through this legislation.\u201d\n\n\u201cSurvivors have been calling for reform to the military justice system for over a decade, Congress has finally heard that call for help and will act this year. We now have broad, bipartisan support in both the House and Senate to take major non-military felonies, including sexual assault, out of the chain of command and empower independent military prosecutors with the crucial decision on whether to try a servicemember,\u201d said Speier. \u201cRemoving this longstanding and obvious conflict of interest will give more victims the confidence to come forward and result in greater accountability for perpetrators. This is a crucial first step for delivering justice to America\u2019s brave servicemembers and ensuring that SPC Guill\u00e9n\u2019s name and spirit live on in that quest for justice. Congress must pass this crucial legislation without delay.\u201d\n\n\"Sexual assault is a violent crime that violates a person\u2019s basic human rights. As Co-Chair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Caucus, I join Congresswoman Jackie Speier to introduce this landmark, bipartisan legislation in the House,\" said Turner. \"I want to congratulate Senator Gillibrand on the profound support she\u2019s achieved for this bill. This bipartisan, bicameral coalition shows how this legislation has evolved over the years to protect our men and women in uniform. By moving the decision to prosecute felony-level, complex criminal cases away from the unit commander, this bill will allow sexual assault cases to be fairly prosecuted, hold offenders accountable and protect victims, while allowing commanders to focus on mission success. I look forward to these critical bipartisan reforms becoming law.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur military justice system is failing servicemembers of color and survivors of sexual assault. The young women and men who wear the uniform and protect our country deserve a system that provides fairness and equal justice. It\u2019s time for comprehensive reform,\u201d said Brown. \u201cThis legislation is an important step forward in tackling the serious systemic disparities and disproportionate rate of punishment against servicemembers of color. We need to create a culture in our military and its justice system that protects all those who answer the call to serve and reflects our values. We owe it to our servicemembers to get this done.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis bill named in honor of Vanessa Guill\u00e9n, seeks to empower military attorneys to make prosecutorial decisions, improve the chain of command's ability to maintain unit readiness and cohesion, and ensure every Servicemember is equipped to prevent what happened to Vanessa Guill\u00e9n,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cThis bill will establish systemic procedures for leaders, soldiers, and military attorneys that will decrease bias, expand training, and accountability. The military is nothing without its servicemembers. This bill will ensure the military is equipped to bring the same amount of disciplined execution it devotes to training people to protect our military workforce.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe owe it to the military members who are victims of violent crimes and sexual assault to update a system that for too long has failed to deliver justice,\u201d said Luria. \u201cAs a 20-year Navy veteran, this bipartisan legislation will strengthen accountability in military justice. I am proud to stand with my colleagues, and with the brave survivors, in support of these needed changes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe issue of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military isn\u2019t a Democrat or Republican issue \u2013 it\u2019s an American issue. We must strengthen the military\u2019s ability to protect its most important resource, which is the people who willingly sign-up to protect all Americans,\u201d said Mullin. \u201cThe Vanessa Guill\u00e9n Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act will also encourage survivors to come forward to report sexual assaults and sexual harassment and to provide justice. This is about protecting our men and women in uniform and I will keep fighting so no family has to go through what the Guill\u00e9n family has gone through.\u201d\n\n\u201cPFC Vanessa Guill\u00e9n\u2019s murder shocked our nation and shed new light on the rising epidemic of unchecked harassment, assault, and retaliation throughout our military,\u201d said Escobar. \u201cVanessa\u2019s memory sparked a movement, and I am honored to co-lead the introduction of the Vanessa Guill\u00e9n Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act to deliver justice for survivors and protect those who bravely put their lives on the line for our country.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs Fort Bragg\u2019s Congressman, I am proud to help lead this bipartisan legislation that seeks to end sexual assault in the military, hold violators accountable, and support survivors,\u201d said Hudson. \u201cSexual assault is an affront to the values of our military the nation they defend. We must accept that what we have tried in the past has not worked. We owe it to the victims like Vanessa Guill\u00e9n to do everything we can to end this culture of sexual assault. Our men and women in uniform sacrifice every day to keep us safe and we have a responsibility to ensure all service members are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will honor Vanessa\u2019s memory today and always by working together to bring justice for her and other soldiers\u2019 victim of sexual assault. I am proud to join Chairwoman Speier and Senator Gillibrand on this bipartisan and bicameral effort that would decrease bias and address impunity to achieve justice,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cWe need to keep pushing for reform and improvement of the accountability mechanisms we are offering our soldiers to overcome abuse that shouldn\u2019t happen in the first place. Our soldiers and their families, like the Guill\u00e9n\u2019s, are the force behind this change. We can\u2019t fail them.\u201d\n\nTo read the full text of the legislation, click HERE.\n\nBackground:\n\nUnder current law, commanders who do not have legal training make the decision on whether to prosecute a servicemember for major crimes, such as murder and rape, under the military justice system.\n\nThe Vanessa Guill\u00e9n Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act would transfer this responsibility to military attorneys with significant trial experience, offering victims and their loved ones the confidence that a professional military prosecutor who is independent\u2014outside of the chain of command of the victim and the alleged perpetrator\u2014is making crucial decisions on whether to pursue a trial. Commanders would retain discretion to prosecute servicemembers for military-specific offenses, such as desertion, and for crimes with a maximum punishment of less than one year of confinement.\n\nThe legislation also includes provisions to improve training on the prevention of sexual assault, requires notice to Congress if the Defense Department changes policies related to sexual assault prevention and response, increases training for military prosecutors, and improves the physical security of lodging and living spaces on military installations.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:57:00Z"]], "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://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-meeks-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-reform-broken-military-justice"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8127850014716387, "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"}