Military Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Act
Latest action · Dec 5, 2007 Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 29, 2007
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Military Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Act - Establishes in the Department of Defense (DOD) an Office of the Victims' Advocate to facilitate access to services for victims of domestic or family violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the military. Directs the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Office, to require DOD policies for victim assistance, family advocacy, and equal opportunity programs to provide for a victims' advocates program within each military department.
Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts to: (1) support DOD crisis intervention services for victims of such violence; and (2) provide training on prevention of such violence.
Prohibits any person from restricting a member of the Armed Forces in communicating with the Office or from taking or withholding a personnel action in retaliation for making such a communication.
Provides for: (1) employment of a sexual assault nurse examiner, a psychiatrist, and a complimentary clinical team at each DOD military treatment facility; and (2) DOD community level programs and shelter services for active duty members and their families who are victims of such violence shelter .
Specifies the rights of victims of such violence reported to a military law enforcement agency.
Directs a military commanding officer who receives a qualifying complaint alleging such violence to investigate it and report.
Specifies circumstances under which military law enforcement officers shall arrest a person for committing domestic violence.
Establishes a Director of Special Investigations in DOD to review investigations of allegations of such violence and refer cases for prosecution.
Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to: (1) include as "aggravated assault" and specify penalty limits for an assault involving domestic or family violence; and (2) provide for court-martial punishment of violations of no contact or protective orders.
Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) contract for treatment services for members of the Armed Forces who have committed such violence; and (2) ensure that sex offender treatment providers in the contracted program meet the state licensing or certification standards.
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) ensure that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care providers receive training in the screening and referral of veterans who have suffered military sexual trauma; and (2) conduct related pilot programs.
Prohibits the Secretary of the military department concerned from approving a financial award or a promotion for an officer or employee who has been convicted of or disciplined for committing such violence.
Directs the Secretary to study: (1) the prevalence and nature of such violence, of intimate partner violence, and of child maltreatment, abuse, suicide, and homicide in the Armed Forces; and (2) military procedures after an incident is reported.
Cosponsors 59
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 29, 2007 to Sep 25, 2008; 42 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-TX | Al Green | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-OH | Betty Sutton | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-MI | Carolyn C. Kilpatrick | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-PA | Christopher P. Carney | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| R-CT | Christopher Shays | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| R-IN | Dan Burton | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-OR | David Wu | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-KS | Dennis Moore | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Doris O. Matsui | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-AS | Eni F. H. Faleomavaega | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Hilda L. Solis | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-WA | Jay Inslee | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Jim Costa | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-WA | Jim McDermott | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Joe Baca | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-MA | John F. Tierney | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-NY | Joseph Crowley | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Lois Capps | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Loretta Sanchez | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-ME | Michael H. Michaud | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-WA | Norman D. Dicks | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-NV | Shelley Berkley | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| R-TX | Ted Poe | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-ME | Thomas H. Allen | Original | Oct 29, 2007 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Oct 31, 2007 | |
| D-NY | Timothy H. Bishop | Oct 31, 2007 | |
| D-CA | George Miller | Nov 13, 2007 | |
| D-FL | Robert Wexler | Nov 13, 2007 | |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Dec 18, 2007 | |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Feb 7, 2008 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | Feb 7, 2008 | |
| D-NY | Anthony D. Weiner | Apr 1, 2008 | |
| D-PA | Joe Sestak | Apr 1, 2008 | |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | May 22, 2008 | |
| D-KY | John A. Yarmuth | Jun 5, 2008 | |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Jun 11, 2008 | |
| R-VA | Tom Davis | Jul 15, 2008 | |
| D-CA | Jane Harman | Jul 30, 2008 | |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Jul 31, 2008 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Jul 31, 2008 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Sep 25, 2008 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Armed Services Committee | Referred Oct 29, 2007 |
| Military Personnel Subcommittee | Referred Dec 5, 2007 | |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Oct 29, 2007 |
| Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee | Referred Nov 2, 2007 | |
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Oct 29, 2007 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Nov 2, 2007 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 5, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
- Nov 2, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Nov 2, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- Oct 29, 2007Introduced in House
- Oct 29, 2007Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2263-2264)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E2263 | Louise McIntosh Slaughter D-NY | Oct 29, 2007 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 110-187 | SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE MILITARY144 pages | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Jul 31, 2008 |
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| RL34139 | Criminal Restitution Proposals in the 110th Congress Archived | Report | Jan 13, 2009 |
| RS22709 | Criminal Restitution in the 110th Congress: A Sketch Archived | Report | Jan 13, 2009 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To reduce sexual assault and domestic violence involving members of the Armed Forces and their family members and partners through enhanced programs of prevention and deterrence, enhanced programs of victims services, and strengthened provisions for prosecution of assailants, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Military Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Access to health care
- Administrative procedure
- Americans in foreign countries
- Armed forces abroad
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Arrest
- Assault
- Attorney-client privilege
- Case management
- Child abuse
- Child safety
- Civil actions and liability
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Compensation for victims of crime
- Conferences
- Confidential communications
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Counseling
- Courts-martial and courts of inquiry
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Crime prevention
- Crimes against women
- Criminal investigation
- Criminal justice information
- Criminal statistics
- Criminology
- Curricula
- Day care
- Department of Defense
- Disciplining of employees
- DNA
- Drug abuse
- Education
- Evidence (Law)
- Ex-offenders
- Executive reorganization
- Families
- Family planning and birth control
- Family violence
- Federal employees
- Federal law enforcement officers
- Federal officials
- Fringe benefits
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publications
- Government publicity
- Governmental investigations
- Grievance procedures
- Group counseling
- Health
- Higher education
- Homicide
- Housing and Community Development
- Human immunodeficiency viruses
- Identification devices
- Informers
- Injunctions
- Inspectors general
- Jurisdiction
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Law enforcement officers
- Legal fees
- Legal services
- Medical education
- Medical personnel
- Medical screening
- Medical tests
- Mental health services
- Military and naval offenses
- Military dependents
- Military hospitals
- Military law
- Military medicine
- Military pay
- Military promotions
- Military training
- Military transportation
- Misconduct in office
- Nonprofit organizations
- Nurses
- Occupational therapy
- Officer personnel
- Paramedical personnel
- Physical therapy
- Physician-patient privilege
- Police
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Pregnancy
- Promotions
- Prosecution
- Psychiatrists
- Public service advertising
- Rape
- Recruiting of employees
- Rehabilitation of criminals
- Relocation
- Reproduction
- Right of privacy
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Sentences (Criminal procedure)
- Sex crimes
- Sex offenders
- Sexual harassment
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Shelters for the homeless
- Social life and customs
- Social Welfare
- Stalking
- State laws
- Suicide
- Surveys
- Telephone
- Transportation and Public Works
- Travel costs
- Veterans' benefits
- Veterans' hospitals
- Veterans' medical care
- Victims of crimes
- Whistle blowing
- Witnesses
- Women
- Women's shelters
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 29, 2007Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
