[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2026 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2026

 To enhance the sexual assault prevention and response program of the 
                         Department of Defense.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 23, 2015

Mr. Turner (for himself and Ms. Tsongas) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enhance the sexual assault prevention and response program of the 
                         Department of Defense.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Support Uniformed 
Patriots; Prevent Offenses and Restore Trust Act'' or the ``SUPPORT 
Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Sexual assault prevention and response training for 
                            administrators and instructors of the 
                            Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
Sec. 3. Strategy to prevent retaliation against members of the Armed 
                            Forces who report or intervene on behalf of 
                            the victim in instances of sexual assault.
Sec. 4. Department of Defense civilian employee access to Special 
                            Victims' Counsel.
Sec. 5. Improvements to Special Victims' Counsel program.
Sec. 6. Improved Department of Defense prevention and response to 
                            sexual assaults in which the victim is a 
                            male member of the Armed Forces.
Sec. 7. Additional guidance regarding the use of mental health records.
Sec. 8. Improvements to the implementation of changes to the Uniform 
                            Code of Military Justice.

SEC. 2. SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE TRAINING FOR 
              ADMINISTRATORS AND INSTRUCTORS OF THE RESERVE OFFICERS' 
              TRAINING CORPS.

    (a) Training and Education Required.--The Secretary of a military 
department shall ensure that the commander of each unit of the Junior 
Reserve Officers' Training Corps or Senior Reserve Officers' Training 
Corps and all Professors of Military Science, senior military 
instructors, and civilian employees detailed, assigned, or employed as 
administrators and instructors of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps 
receive regular sexual assault prevention and response training and 
education.
    (b) Availability of Legal Assistance and Sexual Assault Prevention 
and Response Program Services.--The Secretary of a military department 
shall ensure that information regarding the availability of legal 
assistance and the services of the sexual assault prevention and 
response program of the Department of Defense is made available to the 
Reserve Officers' Training Corps personnel referred to in subsection 
(a).

SEC. 3. STRATEGY TO PREVENT RETALIATION AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES WHO REPORT OR INTERVENE ON BEHALF OF THE VICTIM IN 
              INSTANCES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.

    (a) Strategy Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish a 
comprehensive strategy to prevent retaliation carried out by members of 
the Armed Forces against other members who report or otherwise 
intervene on behalf of the victim in instances of sexual assault.
    (b) Elements.--The comprehensive strategy required by subsection 
(a) shall include, at a minimum, the following:
            (1) Bystander intervention programs emphasizing the 
        importance of guarding against such retaliation.
            (2) Department of Defense and military department policies 
        and requirements to ensure protection from retaliation against 
        victims of sexual assault and members who intervene on behalf 
        of a victim.
            (3) Additional training for commanders on methods and 
        procedures to combat attitudes and beliefs that lead to acts of 
        retaliation by members.
    (c) Retaliation Described.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``retaliation'' has the meaning given that term in the regulations 
issued by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 1709(b)(1) of 
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 
113-66; 10 U.S.C. 113 note) and shall include ostracism and other acts 
of maltreatment designated by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph 
(B) of such section.
    (d) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall brief the 
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives on the comprehensive strategy required by subsection 
(a).

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO SPECIAL 
              VICTIMS' COUNSEL.

    Section 1044(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by 
adding the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) In any instance in which the victim of a sex-related 
        offense is a Department of Defense civilian employee, the 
        Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department 
        may waive the limitation outlined in paragraph (7) in order to 
        permit the civilian employee to obtain the services of a 
        Special Victims' Counsel under section 1044e of this title.''.

SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENTS TO SPECIAL VICTIMS' COUNSEL PROGRAM.

    (a) Qualifications and Designation.--Section 1044e(d) of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``An individual'';
            (2) by designating existing paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
    ``(2) The Secretary of Defense shall direct the Secretary of each 
military department to implement additional selection criteria 
requiring that judge advocates have adequate criminal justice 
experience before they are assigned as Special Victims' Counsel.
    ``(3) The Secretary of Defense shall develop a policy to 
standardize both the timeframe within which Special Victims' Counsel 
receive training and the training that each Special Victims' Counsel 
receives.''.
    (b) Administrative Responsibility.--Section 1044e(e) of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs:
    ``(3) The Secretary of Defense shall establish appropriate program 
performance measures and standards, including evaluating, monitoring, 
and reporting on the Special Victims' Counsel programs, establishing 
guiding principles for the military departments, and ensuring 
centralized, standardized assessment of program effectiveness and 
client satisfaction.
    ``(4) The Secretary of Defense shall direct the Secretary of each 
military department to perform regular evaluations to ensure that 
Special Victims' Counsel are assigned to locations that maximize the 
opportunity for face-to-face interactions between counsel and clients 
and to develop effective means by which a Special Victims' Counsel may 
communicate with a client when face-to-face communication is not 
feasible.''.

SEC. 6. IMPROVED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PREVENTION AND RESPONSE TO 
              SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN WHICH THE VICTIM IS A MALE MEMBER OF 
              THE ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Revised Training.--The Secretary of Defense shall direct the 
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in 
collaboration with the Secretaries of the military services, to revise 
sexual assault prevention and response training to more comprehensively 
and directly address the incidence of male servicemembers being 
sexually assaulted and how certain behavior and activities--like 
hazing--can constitute a sexual assault.
    (b) Evaluation of Differences in Medical and Mental Health-Care 
Needs.--The Secretary of Defense shall direct the Assistant Secretary 
of Defense for Health Affairs, in collaboration with the services' 
Surgeons General, to systematically evaluate the extent to which 
differences exist in the medical and mental health-care needs of male 
and female sexual assault victims, and the care regimen, if any, that 
will best meet those needs.
    (c) Improved Data Collection and Use.--The Secretary of Defense 
shall direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
Readiness, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military 
services, to develop--
            (1) a plan for data-driven decisionmaking for male victim 
        sexual assault prevention and response program efforts; and
            (2) clear goals with associated metrics to drive the 
        changes needed to address sexual assaults of males.
    (d) Improved Information to Members.--The Secretary of Defense 
shall direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
Readiness, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military 
services, to include information about the sexual victimization of 
males in communications to servicemembers that are used to raise 
awareness of sexual assault and the department's efforts to prevent and 
respond to it.
    (e) Improved Guidelines for Providers.--The Secretary of Defense 
shall direct the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs 
should, in collaboration with the services' Surgeons General, to 
develop and issue guidance for the department's medical and mental 
health providers--and other personnel, as appropriate--based on the 
results of this evaluation that delineates these gender-specific 
distinctions and the care regimen that is recommended to most 
effectively meet those needs.

SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE REGARDING THE USE OF MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS.

    The Secretary of Defense shall establish and issue uniform guidance 
to ensure that mental health records are neither sought from a medical 
treatment facility by investigators or military justice practitioners 
nor acknowledged or released by medical treatment facility personnel 
until the production of such mental health records have been ordered by 
a military judge or Article 32 hearing officer.

SEC. 8. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES TO THE UNIFORM 
              CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE.

    The Secretary of Defense shall examine the Department of Defense 
and interagency review process for implementing statutory changes to 
the Uniform Code of Military Justice and should explore options for 
streamlining these procedures. The Secretary shall adopt procedures 
that ensure that legal guidance is published as statutory changes to 
the Uniform Code of Military Justice are implemented.
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