Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013
Latest action · Mar 6, 2014 Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 251. (consideration: CR S1349)
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.
- IntroducedNov 20, 2013
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to direct the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Homeland Security (DHS) to require the Secretaries of the military departments to modify the process for determining whether to try by court-martial a member accused of: (1) certain UCMJ offenses for which the maximum punishment includes confinement for more than one year; or (2) a conspiracy, solicitation, or attempt to commit such offenses.
Requires courts-martial determinations for such offenses to be made by a commissioned officer available for detail as trial counsel who is outside the chain of command of the member subject to the charges. (Currently, courts-martial decisions are made by commanding officers of accused members.)
Excludes from the revised procedures that require counsel outside the chain of command to make such courts-martial determinations certain UCMJ offenses relating specifically to military service, including absence without leave, insubordination, and aiding the enemy.
Prohibits an outside counsel's determination not to proceed to trial by general or special court-martial from altering the authority of commanding officers to: (1) refer noncapital offenses to summary courts-martial with limits on the punishments that may be imposed; or (2) impose non-judicial admonitions, reprimands, or disciplinary punishment for minor offenses.
Requires military chiefs of staff to establish offices to convene general and special courts-martial. Prohibits officers in the chain of command of an accused or a victim from detailing members to serve on a resulting trial by court-martial.
Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate 59 | On the Cloture Motion S. 1752 | Cloture Motion Rejected55–45 | Mar 6, 2014 |
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 6, 2014Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S1335-1349)
- Mar 6, 2014Cloture motion on the measure presented in Senate. (consideration: CR S1336; text: CR S1336)
- Mar 6, 2014Cloture on the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 55 - 45. Record Vote Number: 59. (consideration: CR S1349)
- Mar 6, 2014Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 251. (consideration: CR S1349)
- Nov 21, 2013Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 251.
- Nov 20, 2013Introduced in Senate
- Nov 20, 2013Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
In the Congressional Record 7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1374 | Barbara A. Mikulski D-MD | Mar 10, 2014 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1335–S1349Cloture motions S1336, S1348Recorded votes S1349cloture motionLists S1340Veterans’ and women’s groups supporting S. 1752, Military Justice Improvement Act | Barbara A. Mikulski D-MD (cloture motion), Barbara Boxer D-CA (cloture motion), Benjamin L. Cardin D-MD (cloture motion), Carl Levin D-MI, Charles E. Schumer D-NY (cloture motion), Christopher A. Coons D-DE (cloture motion), Chuck Grassley R-IA, Claire McCaskill D-MO (cloture motion), Dean Heller R-NV, Deb Fischer R-NE, Debbie Stabenow D-MI (cloture motion), Dianne Feinstein D-CA (cloture motion), Harry Reid D-NV (cloture motion), Jack Reed D-RI, James M. Inhofe R-OK, Jeanne Shaheen D-NH, John D. Rockefeller IV D-WV (cloture motion), John E. Walsh D-MT, John McCain R-AZ, Jon Tester D-MT (cloture motion), Kelly Ayotte R-NH, Kirsten E. Gillibrand D-NY (cloture motion), Lindsey Graham R-SC, Lisa Murkowski R-AK, Maria Cantwell D-WA (cloture motion), Mark Begich D-AK (cloture motion), Mazie K. Hirono D-HI, Patrick J. Leahy D-VT (cloture motion), Rand Paul R-KY, Richard Blumenthal D-CT (cloture motion), Susan M. Collins R-ME, Tammy Baldwin D-WI (cloture motion) | Mar 6, 2014 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1306–S1309 | Barbara Boxer D-CA | Mar 5, 2014 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1185 | Harry Reid D-NV | Feb 26, 2014 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S981, S988 | Harry Reid D-NV, Jerry Moran R-KS, Kirsten E. Gillibrand D-NY | Feb 24, 2014 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 113-465 | DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM1,171 pages | Armed Services Committee | Feb 27, 2014–Apr 30, 2014 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46940 | Military Justice Disposition Delimitation Legislation in the 117th Congress Archived | Report | Oct 18, 2021 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 967 | Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 | Related bill | Jun 4, 2013 |
| S 2970 | Military Justice Improvement Act of 2014 | Related bill | Dec 3, 2014 |
| S 2992 | Military Justice Improvement Act of 2014 | Related bill | Dec 10, 2014 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to reform procedures for determinations to proceed to trial by court-martial for certain offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 21, 2013Placed on Calendar Senate
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.
