By Haley Britzky, CNN
(CNN) — A pair of senators have introduced bipartisan legislation that would allow US service members to sue the military over sexual assault in what would be a significant development in the fight against sexual misconduct in the armed forces.
The Military Sexual Trauma Accountability Act, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Sen. John Kennedy, would allow service members to sue the military in cases of rape, sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact, sexual assault of a child, sexual harassment and the wrongful distribution of intimate images. The bill was introduced on Wednesday.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that within the first 10 years of the legislation being active, “there would be 120,000 people who would file successful claims under this bill,” a Democratic Senate aide told CNN. “That speaks to just how prevalent of a problem this is.”
The US military has long grappled with how to confront sexual assault and harassment within its ranks. A report for fiscal year 2024 released last May said the Defense Department received 8,195 reports from service members of sexual assault, 320 fewer than in 2023.
But the newly proposed legislation comes on the heels of a high-profile case at Fort Hood, Texas, where the military has brought charges against an Army gynecologist who has been accused by dozens of women of secretly recording patients, conducting unnecessary procedures during their exams and other sexual misconduct.
That case is a prime example of when the legislation could be used, the Senate aide said, though the bill was already in the works before the news of the gynecologist’s alleged misconduct came to light.
The proposed bill would allow a lawsuit to be brought forward when a service member claims sexual assault was committed, or that the military failed to prevent or investigate misconduct.
Currently, a 1950 Supreme Court decision stands in the way of US service members suing the military for injuries arising from military service. In 2019, that law was successfully challenged when Congress passed the SFC Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act, allowing service members to sue the US for injury and death caused by improper medical care. Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stayskal is an Army Special Forces soldier with terminal lung cancer, which was misdiagnosed by Army medical providers.
“I think the biggest issue that we’re going to face is that this is potentially going to cost the government a lot of money, and our answer to that is, it’s a problem … that the score would be so high,” the aide said. That concern has come up in staff-level conversations with the Defense Department about this bill, they added.
But service members having the ability to “pursue every possible avenue for legal recourse” is a necessary step to “root out the negligence” resulting in sexual assault and harassment, Shaheen said in a statement to CNN.
“It makes no sense that civilians can seek justice from the government when the warriors who have sacrificed everything to protect our nation cannot,” she said.
Kennedy similarly said service members “should not have to give up their right to hold the government accountable when its negligence contributes to sexual assault or harassment.”
“Our brave men and women in uniform deserve real accountability,” he said, “not excuses.”
The-CNN-Wire
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