The White House wouldn’t respond to allegations that the Pentagon misled Congress about the prevalence of sexual assault in the military, but underscored President Obama’s dedication to rooting out sexual violence among service members.
“This information has been the subject of long-running controversy between Congress and the Department of Defense, and while this is an important issue, the difference … is something they are going to have to resolve,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.
It is “important to not let this dispute overshadow the way the president has made this a top priority when it comes to military policy,” Earnest said.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced a bill in 2013 that would have experienced military lawyers determine whether a sexual assault allegation warrants investigating instead of military officers, who make those determinations now.
Gillibrand and others say Pentagon officials under-reported incidents of sexual assault and painted civilian law enforcement agencies as less responsive that military units, but the Pentagon stands by its statistics.
“You’ve heard the president speak … about the need to eradicate sexual assault in the military,” Earnest said, noting that Obama takes the issue so seriously that he reiterated how lowering the incident rate was a priority during a meeting with his top military commanders April 6 at the White House.
He said service members should understand that Obama “has their back” and expects action.
Earnest told the commanders that he “anticipates, and expects, that the leadership will follow through on reforms and other appropriate steps, based on the president making this a priority.”
