The Military Justice Improvement Act is a bipartisan bill to put professional military lawyers in charge of investigations of allegations of sexual misconduct. Currently, commanding officers with a clear conflict of interest are responsible for investigating complaints of rape or sexual assault. It is estimated that rape victims are 12 times more likely to face retaliation from their peers or commanding officer than for the allegations to be faithfully investigated. This bill would put US military procedures in line with many of our major allies and has bipartisan support in congress, but has been subject to filibuster. President Obama should make an unambiguous public appeal to congress to pass this bill.
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