Washington, D.C. — The two members of Iowa’s congressional delegation who are military veterans say more must be done to reform how the military justice system handles sexual assault cases. Policy inserted in a military funding bill makes sexual harassment a crime in the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the first time in the history of the U.S. military. However, commanders will still be allowed to choose witnesses AND the jury members who’ll decide such cases.
Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak who is a retired Iowa National Guard commander, says while she’s disappointed the policy doesn’t go as far as she’d like, SOME changes are being made.
Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa, a Republican who retired after a career in the Army, says while the original proposal was watered down, there has been some progress.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has supported having independent prosecutors handle sexual assault and sexual harassment cases in the military for more than a decade. Ernst signed onto the proposal this summer.
