Remember yesterday’s Headline of the Day? I’ll refresh your memory: It was “Air Force sex assault prevention chief charged in sex assault.” Then today comes the release of the Pentagon’s annual report on sexual assaults in the military. Says USA Today: “Pentagon estimates of how many troops are sexually assaulted show the numbers increased by more than a third since 2010, from 19,300 servicemembers believed to be victims that year to 26,000 in 2012.”

Senator Patty Murray’s had enough. In a press release today, she says, “Not only are we subjecting our men and women to this disgusting epidemic, but we’re also failing to provide the victims with any meaningful support system once they have fallen victim to these attacks.” So she and fellow senator Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire) introduced a bill today called the Combating Military Sexual Assault (MSA) Act of 2013.

The bill, according to Murray’s office, will:

• Provide victims of sexual assault with Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC) – a military lawyer who will assist sexual assault victims throughout the process.
• Enhance the responsibilities and authority of DoD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Office so that it can better oversee efforts to combat MSA across the Armed Forces and regularly track and report on a range of MSA statistics, including assault rate, number of cases brought to trial, and compliance with appropriate laws and regulations within each of the individual services.
• Refer cases to the general court martial level when sexual assault charges are filed or to the next superior competent authority when there is a conflict of interest in the immediate chain of command.
• Bar sexual contact between instructors and trainees during and within 30 days of completion of basic training or its equivalent.
• Ensure that Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARC) are available to members of the National Guard and Reserve at all times and regardless of whether they are operating under Title 10 or Title 32 authority.

It’s always great to remember how badass your senators are. (Full bill is here, if you wonk that hard.)