Women members of Congress have tried for years to whittle away at U.S. military commanders' broad powers to intervene and squash an investigation when a fellow officer stands accused of sexually assaulting a subordinate. The typical response from the male-dominated House and Senate has ranged from shoulder-shrugging indifference to sincere-sounding expressions of concern — followed by inaction. But a new effort shows signs of success now that big names from across the congressional political spectrum have signed on as co-sponsors. And the chairman of the Joint Chiefs says he won't oppose it.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, is the lawmaker who has dedicated the most time and effort to what once seemed a futile cause. This year, she enlisted the support of Iowa Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, along with Texas Republican Ted Cruz. On the Democratic side, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut also have signed on to support Gillibrand's bill, the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act.

At issue is the fact that senior military commanders — who typically are not lawyers and have minimal legal backgrounds — have near-total control over investigations that can decide whether an officer accused of sexual assault winds up being court martialed. Investigators must submit their findings to senior commanders, who have wide discretion to decide whether the case merits prosecution. Senior commanders have used this power previously to get their sexually offending colleagues off the hook.

Gillibrand's bill would require that sexual-assault cases be assigned exclusively to specially trained military prosecutors, removing senior commanders from the process.

Her research, she told National Public Radio, shows that "oftentimes there is bias when it's a he-said, she-said case. And I've looked at every case, several years, at four of the largest military bases to see how do these cases turn out. When it's he-said, she-said, more often than not, they [commanders] believe the he, the perpetrator."

In 2019, more than 7,800 sexual-assault reports were filed involving service members, yet only 7% resulted in convictions, according to Defense Department data.

Speaking to reporters last week, Grassley acknowledged the years of disappointment Gillibrand has faced but seemed hopeful that her persistence would finally pay off. "If you are right, you eventually win out in the Congress of the United States. Sexual assault cannot be tolerated anywhere, but particularly in the military," he said.

Ernst, the only female combat veteran representing the GOP in the Senate, has long campaigned to fix weaknesses in the military justice system. Cruz, who doesn't typically align with Democrats on such issues, said he is "proud" to be a part of this legislation. "Providing for the nation's defense includes protecting those who protect us from sexual violence," he said. This marks one of the extremely rare occasions when this newspaper can declare it stands in full agreement with the junior senator from Texas.

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