[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5328 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5328

    To provide additional funding to prevent sexual assaults in the 
                               military.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 8, 2004

 Mrs. Maloney (for herself, Mrs. Tauscher, Ms. Watson, and Mr. Towns) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide additional funding to prevent sexual assaults in the 
                               military.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Sexual Assaults in the 
Military Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) At least eighteen studies have been conducted since 
        1988 regarding the instances of sexual assault and rape in the 
        Armed Forces.
            (2) A May 2003 survey of Air Force Academy cadets showed 
        that 80.8 percent of females who said that they had been 
        victims of sexual assault did not report the incident.
            (3) According to the April 2004 Department of Defense's 
        Task Force Report on Care for Victims of Sexual Assault, in 
        2002 and 2003, there were a total of 1913 alleged cases of 
        sexual assault with uniformed service member victims reported.
            (4) The April 2004 Report states that 99 percent of alleged 
        service member offenders were male.
            (5) The April 2004 Report states that ``existing policies 
        and programs aimed at preventing sexual assault are 
        inconsistent and incomplete.''.
            (6) The April 2004 Report states that ``training and 
        education designed to prevent sexual assault is limited and 
        varies from location to location.''.
            (7) The April 2004 Report states that many victims do not 
        report their assaults for several reasons, including fear that 
        the chain of command will not believe them; embarrassment; fear 
        of being stigmatized; and fear of retaliation from the 
        offender.
            (8) The April 2004 Report states that the ``victim's 
        privacy needs must be positively assured.''.
            (9) The April 2004 Report states that ``a system to 
        coordinate and track victim support services for effective case 
        management does not exist at all installations.''.
            (10) The April 2004 Report states that ``there is a backlog 
        of DNA evidence waiting for processing at the United States 
        Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL) and this can 
        significantly delay investigations and prosecutions.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Elimination of DNA Evidence Backlogs.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense for each of fiscal years 
2005, 2006, and 2007 such funds as may be necessary to eliminate the 
backlog in processing of DNA evidence at any military DNA laboratories, 
including the United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory 
(USACIL).
    (b) Timely Testing of Crime Scene DNA Samples.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense for each of 
fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 2007 such funds as may be necessary to 
ensure that DNA testing and analysis of samples from crimes, including 
sexual assault and other serious violent crimes, are carried out in a 
timely manner.
    (c) Distribution of DNA Evidence Kits.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Defense for each of fiscal years 2005, 
2006, and 2007 such funds as may be necessary to distribute a 
sufficient amount of DNA evidence kits to each military academy, 
domestic military base, overseas military base, and theater of 
operations.
    (d) On-Duty SANE or SAFE Personnel.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Defense for each of fiscal years 2005, 
2006, and 2007 such funds as may be necessary to ensure that at least 
one military medical personnel member, who is trained as a Sexual 
Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) or Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner 
(SAFE), is on duty at all times in the health care facility at each 
military academy, domestic military base, overseas military base, and 
theater of operations, except in a case in which a memorandum of 
understanding between the military installation and a local civilian 
hospital ensures that a nonmilitary person trained as a SANE or SAFE is 
on duty at all times.
                                 <all>