Sen. Chuck Grassley and a bi-partisan group of senators are calling on Congress to pass legislation that reforms the way sexual assault cases are prosecuted in the military.
The Military Justice Improvement Act would strip the decision of whether a serious crime goes to trial from the chain of command, and place it with trained military prosecutors.
Grassley says it’s clear the Defense Department can’t be trusted to prosecute cases, in light of new information that shows the Pentagon deceived Congress on how military sexual assaults are handled.
"There was a lot of evidence given that the military can handle this on their own that was just outright misleading," says the Iowa Republican. "That evidence has come to the attention of all of us."
Accordingto Protect Our Defenders, a national organization that works to combat military sexual assault, less than 20 percent of cases where the military could take action were actually prosecuted.