The Senate has voted to block a bill that would have removed the authority of senior military commanders to prosecute sexual assault cases within their ranks.
On Thursday's 55-45 vote, short of the 60 necessary to move the legislation forward, the Senate set aside the Military Justice Improvement Act sponsored by New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
USA Today says the bill "would take away military commanders' authority to decide whether to prosecute sexual assault cases — and other offenses punishable by at least one year in jail — and give it to prosecutors in the Judge Advocate General's office."
The Associated Press writes:
Conservative Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky backed her effort, but asNPR's Liz Halloran reported last month, it faced opposition from powerful fellow Democrats, including Sen. Claire McCaskill and Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, as well as the president himself.
The AP says: "Although the vote sent the bill back to the Senate calendar, it was unlikely to be the final word. Gillibrand was expected to pursue the issue this spring when the Armed Services Committee begins work on a sweeping defensepolicy bill for the 2015 fiscal year."
Gillibrand's legislation comes amid a rashof high-profile sexual assault and sexual misconduct cases in the ranks, prompting President Obama in December to order a one-year review of the military's response to the problem. On Thursday, Army Brig.-Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair pleaded guilty to adultery before a court-martial in North Carolina, but still faces a charge of sexually assaulting a female captain.