As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas was appointed today by the Speaker of the House John Boehner to serve as a conferee to the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Committee. The NDAA authorizes funding and sets policy for the Department of Defense.
Typically, when the House and Senate draft differing pieces of legislation regarding the same topic, a Conference Committee is formed to iron out the differences between the two bills. Tsongas has served on the House Armed Services Committee since she was elected in 2007 and has quickly gained seniority on the Committee.
In particular, Rep. Tsongas and her Republican colleague Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) have jointly led the bipartisan effort to address the alarming incidence of sexual assault in the military. Together, they authored a portion of the House-passed NDAA that would put in place new measures to better prevent and respond to incidents of sexual assault in the military.
Today, Congresswoman Tsongas introduced a motion on the Floor of the House of Representatives instructing all NDAA conferees to adopt these House-passed provisions. These include providing victims of sexual assault with the right to legal counsel, the right to a base transfer, the ability to maintain confidentiality when speaking with Victim Advocates, as well as mandating greater training for sexual assault prevention and response at every level of our Armed Services. The motion passed with overwhelming bipartisan support with a vote of 421 to 2 making a clear statement that the entire House of Representatives supported Representative Tsongas and Turner’s efforts.
