U.S. Senators and former prosecutors Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) today released the following joint statement after the leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees unveiled a plan to pass this year’s annual defense bill-including dozens of historic provisions to protect and empower victims of sexual assault, boost prosecutions of sexual predators, and hold military commanders accountable:

“This agreement represents a huge win for justice in America’s Armed Forces. While we’re frustrated that votes on additional measures did not occur, these historic reforms-including installing civilian review over prosecutorial decisions, barring commanders from changing jury verdicts, assigning victims their own legal counsel, criminalizing retaliation against victims, and mandating dishonorable discharge for convicted sex offenders-will mean a new day for justice for American servicemembers. And we’re going to work as hard as we can to enact these critical reforms into law.”

Monday’s agreement contains a long list of reforms already included in the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act, as well as bipartisan reforms to the “Article 32” pre-trial process, including:

Stripping military commanders of their ability to overturn jury convictions
Requiring civilian review if a commander declines to prosecute a case
Assigning victims their own independent legal counsel to protect their rights and fight for their interests
Mandating dishonorable discharge for anyone convicted of sexual assault
Criminalizing retaliation against victims who report a sexual assault
Eliminating the statute of limitations in rape and sexual assault cases