WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Armed Services Committee member, announced today he is cosponsoring the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, a bipartisan bill to modernize the way the military handles accusations of serious and sensitive crimes. The recent support of Senator Cramer and others has helped put this bill over the Senate’s 60 vote threshold.

“The status quo is not working when it comes to the military’s handling of accusations of serious crimes like sexual assault,” said Senator Cramer. “I believe our military commanders want the best for our troops, but they have been weighed down by numerous responsibilities beyond their core mission, and issues as serious as these deserve a high level of care and attention with a clear process in place. Our bill would professionalize the process for dealing with these serious accusations while maintaining our commanders’ responsibility for creating a safe environment in the military. I urge my colleagues and the Administration to support it.”

The Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act would take critical steps to create a more professional and transparent military justice system for serious crimes — including rape and sexual assault, murder, manslaughter, child endangerment, child pornography, and negligent homicide — and address the need for sexual assault prevention that DoD has not implemented. Specifically, the legislation would: 

  • Move the decision on whether to prosecute serious crimes to independent, trained, and professional military prosecutors, while leaving misdemeanors and uniquely military crimes within the chain of command;
  • Ensure the Department of Defense supports criminal investigators and military prosecutors through the development of unique skills needed to properly handle investigations and cases related to sexual assault and domestic violence;
  • Require the Secretary of Defense to survey and improve the physical security of military installations – including locks, security cameras, and other passive security measures – to increase safety in lodging and living spaces for service members; and
  • Increase and improve training and education on military sexual assault throughout our armed services to help shift the culture in the military and ensure the armed services can enforce a no-tolerance zone for sexual assault and other grievous crimes.

Before gaining the support of 61 senators, the bill was originally introduced in April by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), chair of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, along with U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

Learn more here.