I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4717 

To establish a policy against sexual abuse on all United States military 

installations, whether located in the United States or overseas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2016 

Mr. HUNTER (for himself, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. ZINKE, Mr. RUSSELL, Mr. 

KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Ms. SPEIER, and Mr. JONES) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To establish a policy against sexual abuse on all United 

States military installations, whether located in the 

United States or overseas. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mandating America’s 

5 Responsibility To Limit Abuse, Negligence and Depravity 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘MARTLAND Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADOPTION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE POLICY 

2 AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSE ON ALL UNITED 

3 STATES MILITARY INSTALLATIONS. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) Members of the United States Army and 

7 Marine Corps serving in Afghanistan were advised to 

8 respect cultural and religious practices of Afghans 

9 and told that sexual abuse perpetrated by local allies 

10 was a matter of Afghan law. 

11 (2) In one report, a United States soldier said 

12 that, from his bunk at a base in southern Afghani13 stan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually 

14 abusing boys they had brought to the base and that 

15 ‘‘at night we could hear [the boys] screaming but 

16 we’re not allowed to do anything about it’’. 

17 (3) Fighting in a foreign theater of war should 

18 not require members of the Armed Forces to turn a 

19 blind eye toward criminal perversion. 

20 (4) The Department of Defense already has an 

21 established policy against human trafficking. 

22 (5) Department of Defense Instruction 2200.01 

23 instructs members of the Armed Forces as follows: 

24 ‘‘Oppose prostitution, forced labor, and any related 

25 activities contributing to the phenomenon of traf26 ficking in persons (TIP). TIP is a violation of U.S. 


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1 law and internationally recognized human rights, 

2 and is incompatible with DoD core values.’’. 

3 (6) The Department of Defense also needs an 

4 established policy to counter sexual abuse per5 petrated on a United States military installation, 

6 whether the installation is located in the United 

7 States or overseas. 

8 (b) POLICY AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSE ON MILITARY

9 INSTALLATIONS.—It is the policy of the United States 

10 that human rights violations, including child abuse, shall 

11 not be conducted or condoned on any United States mili12 tary installation, whether located in the United States or 

13 overseas, by either citizens or nationals of the United 

14 States or foreign nationals. 

15 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICY.—No later than 90 

16 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense 

18 committees a comprehensive plan detailing the procedures 

19 by which the Secretary will implement the policy expressed 

20 in subsection (b). 

21 (d) MILITARY INSTALLATION DEFINED.—In this sec22 tion, the term ‘‘military installation’’ includes United 

23 States combat outposts and forward operating locations. 

Æ 


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