IC 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1917 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 11, 2014 

Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

AN ACT 

To provide for additional enhancements of the sexual assault 

prevention and response activities of the Armed Forces. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

S 1917 RFH 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Victims Protection Act 

3 of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF SENIOR TRIAL COUNSEL DETER5 MINATIONS ON REFERRAL OF CASES TO 

6 TRIAL BY COURT-MARTIAL IN CASES RE7 VIEWED BY SECRETARIES OF MILITARY DE8 PARTMENTS. 

9 Section 1744 of the National Defense Authorization 

10 Act for Fiscal Year 2014 is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

13 ‘‘OR SENIOR TRIAL COUNSEL’’ after ‘‘STAFF

14 JUDGE ADVOCATE’’; and 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘or the senior trial coun16 sel detailed to the case’’ after ‘‘Military Jus17 tice),’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (d)— 

19 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

20 ‘‘OR SENIOR TRIAL COUNSEL’’ after ‘‘STAFF

21 JUDGE ADVOCATE’’; and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘or the senior trial coun23 sel detailed to the case’’ after ‘‘Military Jus24 tice),’’. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

S 1917 RFH 

1 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENTS OF MILITARY DE2 PARTMENT ACTIONS ON SEXUAL ASSAULT 

3 PREVENTION AND RESPONSE. 

4 (a) ADDITIONAL DUTY OF SPECIAL VICTIMS’ COUN5 SEL.—In addition to any duties authorized by section 

6 1044e of title 10, United States Code (as added by section 

7 1716 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

8 Year 2014), a Special Victims’ Counsel designated under 

9 subsection (a) of such section 1044e shall provide advice 

10 to victims of sexual assault on the advantages and dis11 advantages of prosecution of the offense concerned by 

12 court-martial or by a civilian court with jurisdiction over 

13 the offense before such victims express their preference 

14 as to the prosecution of the offense under subsection (b). 

15 (b) CONSULTATION WITH VICTIMS REGARDING

16 PREFERENCE IN PROSECUTION OF CERTAIN SEXUAL OF17 FENSES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the mili19 tary departments shall each establish a process to 

20 ensure consultation with the victim of a covered sex21 ual offense that occurs in the United States with re22 spect to the victim’s preference as to whether the of23 fense should be prosecuted by court-martial or by a 

24 civilian court with jurisdiction over the offense. 

25 (2) WEIGHT AFFORDED PREFERENCE.—The 

26 preference expressed by a victim under paragraph 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

S 1917 RFH 

1 (1) with respect to the prosecution of an offense, 

2 while not binding, should be afforded great weight in 

3 the determination whether to prosecute the offense 

4 by court-martial or by a civilian court. 

5 (3) NOTICE TO VICTIM OF LACK OF CIVILIAN

6 CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AFTER PREFERENCE FOR

7 SUCH PROSECUTION.—In the event a victim ex8 presses a preference under paragraph (1) in favor of 

9 prosecution of an offence by civilian court and the 

10 civilian authorities determine to decline prosecution, 

11 or defer to prosecution by court-martial, the victim 

12 shall be promptly notified of that determination. 

13 (c) PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS OF MEMBERS OF

14 THE ARMED FORCES.— 

15 (1) APPRAISALS OF ALL MEMBERS ON COMPLI16 ANCE WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RE17 SPONSE PROGRAMS.—The Secretaries of the military 

18 departments shall each ensure that the written per19 formance appraisals of members of the Armed 

20 Forces (whether officers or enlisted members) under 

21 the jurisdiction of such Secretary include an assess22 ment of the extent to which each such member sup23 ports the sexual assault prevention and response 

24 program of the Armed Force concerned. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

S 1917 RFH 

1 (2) PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS OF COM2 MANDING OFFICERS.—The Secretaries of the mili3 tary departments shall each ensure that the per4 formance appraisals of commanding officers under 

5 the jurisdiction of such Secretary indicate the extent 

6 to which each such commanding officer has or has 

7 not established a command climate in which— 

8 (A) allegations of sexual assault are prop9 erly managed and fairly evaluated; and 

10 (B) a victim can report criminal activity, 

11 including sexual assault, without fear of retalia12 tion, including ostracism and group pressure 

13 from other members of the command. 

14 (d) COMMAND CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS FOLLOWING

15 INCIDENTS OF CERTAIN SEXUAL OFFENSES.— 

16 (1) ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED.—The Secretaries 

17 of the military departments shall each establish a 

18 process whereby a command climate assessment is 

19 performed following an incident involving a covered 

20 sexual offense for each of the command of the ac21 cused and the command of the victim. If the accused 

22 and the victim are within the same command, only 

23 a single climate assessment is required. The process 

24 shall ensure the timely completion of command cli25 mate assessments for provision to military criminal 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

S 1917 RFH 

1 investigation organizations and commanders pursu2 ant to paragraph (2). 

3 (2) PROVISION TO MILITARY CRIMINAL INVES4 TIGATION ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMANDERS.—A 

5 command climate assessment performed pursuant to 

6 paragraph (1) shall be provided to the following: 

7 (A) The military criminal investigation or8 ganization conducting the investigation of the 

9 offense concerned. 

10 (B) The commander next higher in the 

11 chain of command of the command covered by 

12 the climate assessment. 

13 (e) CONFIDENTIAL REVIEW OF CHARACTERIZATION

14 OF TERMS OF DISCHARGE OF VICTIMS OF SEXUAL OF15 FENSES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the mili17 tary departments shall each establish a confidential 

18 process, through boards for the correction of mili19 tary records of the military department concerned, 

20 by which an individual who was the victim of a cov21 ered sexual offense during service in the Armed 

22 Forces may challenge, on the basis of being the vic23 tim of such an offense, the terms or characterization 

24 of the individual’s discharge or separation from the 

25 Armed Forces. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

S 1917 RFH 

1 (2) CONSIDERATION OF INDIVIDUAL EXPERI2 ENCES IN CONNECTION WITH OFFENSES.—In decid3 ing whether to modify the terms or characterization 

4 of an individual’s discharge or separation pursuant 

5 to the process required by paragraph (1), the Sec6 retary of the military department concerned shall in7 struct boards to give due consideration to the psy8 chological and physical aspects of the individual’s ex9 perience in connection with the offense concerned, 

10 and to what bearing such experience may have had 

11 on the circumstances surrounding the individual’s 

12 discharge or separation from the Armed Forces. 

13 (3) PRESERVATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

14 Documents considered and decisions rendered pursu15 ant to the process required by paragraph (1) shall 

16 not be made available to the public, except with the 

17 consent of the individual concerned. 

18 (f) COVERED SEXUAL OFFENSE DEFINED.—In sub19 sections (a) through (e), the term ‘‘covered sexual offense’’ 

20 means any of the following: 

21 (1) Rape or sexual assault under subsection (a) 

22 or (b) of section 920 of title 10, United States Code 

23 (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Jus24 tice). 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

S 1917 RFH 

1 (2) Forcible sodomy under section 925 of title 

2 10, United States Code (article 125 of the Uniform 

3 Code of Military Justice). 

4 (3) An attempt to commit an offense specified 

5 in paragraph (1) or (2) as punishable under section 

6 880 of title 10, United States Code (article 80 of the 

7 Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

8 (g) MODIFICATION OF MILITARY RULES OF EVI9 DENCE RELATING TO ADMISSIBILITY OF GENERAL MILI10 TARY CHARACTER TOWARD PROBABILITY OF INNO11 CENCE.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

12 enactment of this Act, Rule 404(a) of the Military Rules 

13 of Evidence shall be modified to clarify that the general 

14 military character of an accused is not admissible for the 

15 purpose of showing the probability of innocence of the ac16 cused, except that evidence of a trait of the military char17 acter of an accused may be offered in evidence by the ac18 cused when that trait is relevant to an element of an of19 fense for which the accused has been charged. 

20 SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION 

21 AND RESPONSE AND RELATED MILITARY 

22 JUSTICE ENHANCEMENTS TO MILITARY 

23 SERVICE ACADEMIES. 

24 (a) MILITARY SERVICE ACADEMIES.—The Secretary 

25 of the military department concerned shall ensure that the 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

S 1917 RFH 

1 provisions of title XVII of the National Defense Author2 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (as amended by this Act) 

3 and this Act apply to the United States Military Academy, 

4 the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy, as appli5 cable. 

6 (b) COAST GUARD ACADEMY.—The Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security shall ensure that the provisions of title 

8 XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

9 Year 2014 (as so amended) and this Act apply to the 

10 Coast Guard Academy. 

11 SEC. 5. COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF 

12 DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUS13 TICE IN EFFORTS TO PREVENT AND RE14 SPOND TO SEXUAL ASSAULT. 

15 (a) STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK ON COLLABORATION

16 REQUIRED.—Not later than 270 days after the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and 

18 the Attorney General shall jointly develop a strategic 

19 framework for ongoing collaboration between the Depart20 ment of Defense and the Department of Justice in their 

21 efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault. The 

22 framework shall be based on and include the following: 

23 (1) An assessment of the role of the Depart24 ment of Justice in investigations and prosecutions of 

25 sexual assault cases in which the Department of DeVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:38 Mar 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1917.RFH S1917

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

S 1917 RFH 

1 fense and the Department of Justice have concur2 rent jurisdiction, with the assessment to include a 

3 review of and list of recommended revisions to rel4 evant Memoranda of Understanding and related doc5 uments between the Department of Justice and the 

6 Department of Defense. 

7 (2) An assessment of the feasibility of estab8 lishing the position of advisor on military sexual as9 saults within the Department of Justice (using exist10 ing Department resources and personnel) to assist in 

11 the activities required under paragraph (1) and pro12 vide to the Department of Defense investigative and 

13 other assistance in sexual assault cases occurring on 

14 domestic and overseas military installations over 

15 which the Department of Defense has primary juris16 diction, with the assessment to address the feasi17 bility of maintaining representatives or designees of 

18 the advisor at military installations for the purpose 

19 of reviewing cases of sexual assault and providing 

20 assistance with the investigation and prosecution of 

21 sexual assaults. 

22 (3) An assessment of the number of unsolved 

23 sexual assault cases that have occurred on military 

24 installations, and a plan, with appropriate bench25 marks, to review those cases using currently availVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:38 Mar 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1917.RFH S1917

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

S 1917 RFH 

1 able civilian and military law enforcement resources, 

2 such as new technology and forensics information. 

3 (4) A strategy to leverage efforts by the De4 partment of Defense and the Department of Jus5 tice— 

6 (A) to improve the quality of investiga7 tions, prosecutions, specialized training, services 

8 to victims, awareness, and prevention regarding 

9 sexual assault; and 

10 (B) to address social conditions that relate 

11 to sexual assault. 

12 (5) Mechanisms to promote information sharing 

13 and best practices between the Department of De14 fense and the Department of Justice on prevention 

15 and response to sexual assault, including victim as16 sistance through the Violence against Women Act 

17 and Office for Victims of Crime programs of the De18 partment of Justice. 

19 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of Defense and the At20 torney General shall jointly submit to the appropriate 

21 committees of Congress a report on the framework re22 quired by subsection (a). The report shall— 

23 (1) describe the manner in which the Depart24 ment of Defense and Department of Justice will col25 laborate on an ongoing basis under the framework; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

S 1917 RFH 

1 (2) explain obstacles to implementing the 

2 framework; and 

3 (3) identify changes in laws necessary to 

4 achieve the purpose of this section. 

5 (c) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE6 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit7 tees of Congress’’ means— 

8 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

9 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and 

10 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

11 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep12 resentatives. 

13 SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF DEADLINE FOR REPORT ON 

14 NEED FOR PUNITIVE UCMJ ARTICLE ON IN15 APPROPRIATE CONTACT WITH PROSPECTIVE 

16 AND NEW MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

17 Section 1741(d) of the National Defense Authoriza18 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2014 is amended by striking ‘‘120 

19 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’. 

20 SEC. 7. SENSE OF SENATE ON INDEPENDENT PANEL ON RE21 VIEW AND ASSESSMENT ON RESPONSE SYS22 TEMS TO SEXUAL ASSAULT CRIMES. 

23 It is the sense of the Senate that— 

24 (1) the panel to review and assess the systems 

25 used to respond to sexual assault established by secVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:38 Mar 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1917.RFH S1917

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

S 1917 RFH 

1 tion 576 of the National Defense Authorization Act 

2 for Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law 112–239; 126 

3 Stat. 1758) is conducting an independent assess4 ment of the systems used to investigate, prosecute, 

5 and adjudicate crimes involving adult sexual assault 

6 and related offenses; 

7 (2) the work of the panel will be critical in in8 forming the efforts of Congress to combat rape, sex9 ual assault, and other sex-related crimes in the 

10 Armed Forces; 

11 (3) the panel should include in its assessment 

12 under subsection (d)(1) of section 576 of the Na13 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

14 2013 a review of the reforms that will be enacted 

15 pursuant to title XVII of the National Defense Au16 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (as amended by 

17 this Act) and this Act; and 

18 (4) the views of the victim advocate community 

19 should continue to be well-represented on the panel, 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

S 1917 RFH 

1 and input from victims should continue to play a 

2 central role in informing the work of the panel. 

Passed the Senate March 10, 2014. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS