Ernst’s bipartisan bill addresses sexual misconduct in the U.S. Coast Guard

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) recently unveiled a bipartisan bill that would provide for a 20-member advisory committee tasked with preventing sexual misconduct in the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The recent reports of sexual misconduct and harassment at the Coast Guard and its academy are alarming and unacceptable,” said Sen. Ernst, chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. “This bipartisan bill takes important steps to combat sexual assault within the Coast Guard ranks and the academy.”

Sen. Ernst in December 2019 sponsored the Coast Guard Sexual Misconduct Prevention Act, S. 3066, with lead original bill cosponsor U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to establish the Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct in the Coast Guard, according to the text of the bill.

“For too long, our military has failed to adequately protect women and men from sexual misconduct and assault,” said Sen. Duckworth. “That’s one reason I’m proud to join Senator Ernst to introduce this legislation to help ensure all members of the military are able to work and thrive in their careers without fear of sexual assault.”

If enacted, the committee established under the legislation would include experts in sexual assault prevention, suicide prevention and the practice of facilitating change in the culture of large organizations, and would recommend changes to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security on the policies, programs and practices of the Coast Guard and its academy, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Ernst’s office.

The bill is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.