The National Defense Authorization Act will go to the Senate floor on Monday, November 18th. As a result, sometime during the next week, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand‘s controversial Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA), will be debated. MJIA has the support of 47 Senators and 38 bipartisan sponsors, but is still missing just 13 votes in order to pass without the risk of a filibuster. It’s controversial because it proposes removing the prosecution of serious crimes in the armed forces (such as, but not limited to, sexual assault) from the chain of command. Instead, cases will be handled by impartial military prosecutors, who would also be granted authority to decide which cases go to trial.

Senator Claire McCaskill has proposed an alternative approach to reforming that pre-trial process that would allow commanders to stay embedded, but deny them the right tooverturn verdicts. Both approaches embrace changes that would address common retaliation against survivors of assault who report crimes as well as requiring a dishonorable discharge for those convicted of sex crimes.

Check out the full piece for more details on MJIA and 50 facts about sexual assault in the US military. Where do you stand on MJIA?