{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=b7275b34-8923-4c15-a2b5-776b2f7ada38", "St. Joseph News-Press: Missouri senators introduce bill addressing sexual assault cases", "2013-11-05", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Ken Newton \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tA bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including both of those from Missouri, has taken a new tack in addressing the issue of sexual assaults in the military.\r\nSens. Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt, a Democrat and a Republican, put their names Tuesday on the Article 32 Reform Act. The title refers to an information-gathering provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.\r\nThe change in the law would limit Article 32 probes to questions of probable cause, aiming to prevent abusive treatment of military sexual assault survivors before their cases go to trial.\r\n\u201cThese aggressive, commonsense reforms will ensure that the process does not discourage survivors from coming forward, and that survivors\u2019 rights are also strengthened and solidified,\" said Ms. McCaskill, a former county prosecutor who has been a Senate leader in addressing issues of military sexual assaults.\r\nThe Democrat previously introduced legislation to offer protections for assault victims and to strip commanding officers of their authority to dismiss court-martial convictions of sexual offenders. This legislation speaks specifically to the Article 32 process.\r\nShe thanked her Missouri colleague for joining the list of sponsors, which also includes Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.\r\n\u201cSexual assault in the military is simply intolerable, and there\u2019s no reason these victims should be re-victimized during pre-trial investigations,\u201d Mr. Blunt said, adding that the proposed law's provisions would keep assault victims from becoming \"the target of unwarranted and abusive questioning.\u201d\r\nThe legislation arises in the aftermath of reports this fall that a female attending the U.S. Naval Academy had been questioned for about 30 hours after she accused three fellow midshipmen of raping her.\r\nThe questions, part of an Article 32 process, centered on her previous sexual history, reports said.\r\n\u201cIt is time to abolish the practice of allowing defense attorneys to conduct a mini-trial before they ever get to a court-martial,\u201d said Nancy Parrish, president of an advocacy group called Protect Our Defenders.\r\nDefense Department officials estimate that about 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact occurred last year, with roughly 3,400 sexual assaults reported. Read more here.", 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": ["http://www.blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=b7275b34-8923-4c15-a2b5-776b2f7ada38"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.588447019457817, "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"}