Today Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) voted in favor of Department of Defense Appropriations legislation, which included provisions advocated for by Kuster to address military sexual assault and the over prescribing of opioids, and to better support the families of fallen servicemembers. The legislation set aside funding for an examination of the DoD’s opioid prescribing practices and also to make payments of up to $100,000 to the loved ones of fallen troops.

“The funding we approved today will make a difference in the lives of the men and women who sacrifice so much to keep our country safe,” Kuster said.

Kuster also spearheaded an effort to secure funding for the first ever in-depth and independent review of a military policy that prevents servicemembers from reporting sexual assaults. The policy governing collateral misconduct often leads commanders to punish survivors for what are often minor violations of military rules that are discovered during the investigation of their assault.

“For far too long, servicemembers have survived sexual assaults only to suffer in silence,” Kuster said. “They’ve refused to bring their assailants to justice and often forgo medical attention, not because they fear their attacker but because they fear a military policy that pushes commanders to punish them for minor violations. I hope that this study will enable the military to make reforms to ensure that no survivor of sexual assault fears coming forward.”

The House voted to allocate $1 million, which will pay for thousands of sexual assault cases to be reviewed by the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault, known as the DAC-IPAD.

For nearly 15 years, the Department of Defense’s own policy has recognized collateral misconduct as “one of the most significant barriers” to sexual assaults being reported. Despite this acknowledgement, efforts to address collateral misconduct have largely fallen short.

Congress ordered the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate hundreds of sexual assault cases, in which the careers of servicemembers ended not long after they reported being attacked, as part of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. The IG reported back that it couldn’t review 22 percent of the servicemembers’ cases, because their military records went missing or were never filed.

In addition to requiring the study, Kuster authored bipartisan legislation that would require the military to track collateral misconduct and annually file a report to Congress.

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