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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3776 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3776

 To establish a safe-to-report policy within the Coast Guard, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 8 (legislative day, February 7), 2024

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Blackburn, 
 Ms. Baldwin, and Mrs. Britt) introduced the following bill; which was 
  read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To establish a safe-to-report policy within the Coast Guard, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coast Guard Academy Safe-to-Report 
Act''.

SEC. 2. COAST GUARD SAFE-TO-REPORT POLICY.

    (a) In General.--The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall prescribe 
regulations to establish a safe-to-report policy that--
            (1) applies to--
                    (A) all members of the Coast Guard (including 
                members of the reserve component of the Coast Guard); 
                and
                    (B) cadets at the United States Coast Guard 
                Academy; and
            (2) is consistent with the safe-to-report policy prescribed 
        by the Secretary of Defense under section 539A of the William 
        M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 
        Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283; 10 U.S.C. 1561 note).
    (b) Safe-to-Report Policy.--The safe-to-report policy established 
in accordance with the regulations prescribed under subsection (a) 
shall set forth a procedure for the handling of minor collateral 
misconduct involving any individual described in paragraph (1) or (2) 
of that subsection who is the alleged victim of sexual assault or 
sexual harassment.
    (c) Aggravating Circumstances.--The regulations under subsection 
(a) shall specify aggravating circumstances that increase the gravity 
of minor collateral misconduct or the impact of such misconduct on good 
order and discipline.
    (d) Tracking of Collateral Misconduct Incidents.--In conjunction 
with the issuance of regulations under subsection (a), the Commandant 
shall develop and implement a process to track incidents of minor 
collateral misconduct that are subject to the safe-to-report policy.
    (e) Definition of Minor Collateral Misconduct.--In this section, 
the term ``minor collateral misconduct'' means any minor misconduct 
that is potentially punishable under chapter 47 of title 10, United 
States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), that--
            (1) is committed close in time to or during a sexual 
        assault or instance of sexual harassment, and directly related 
        to the incident that formed the basis of the allegation of 
        sexual assault or sexual harassment;
            (2) is discovered as a direct result of--
                    (A) the report of sexual assault or sexual 
                harassment; or
                    (B) an investigation into a sexual assault or an 
                instance of sexual harassment; and
            (3) does not involve aggravating circumstances (as 
        specified in the regulations prescribed under subsection (c)) 
        that increase the gravity of the minor misconduct or the impact 
        of such misconduct on good order and discipline.
                                 <all>
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