Coast Guard Academy Safe-to-Report Act

Bill: 118-s-3776
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2024-02-08
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2024-02-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3776 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Coast Guard Academy Safe-to-Report Act . 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.