Military sexual assault reform pared back in defense spending bill

The version of the defense spending bill that the House of Representatives passed on Tuesday watered down expected changes to the military justice system.

Lawmakers voted 363-70 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, though the language in its final version included walking back some of the previous changes that were expected to be made to how the military handled sex crimes. This version of the bill was a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, the latter of whom held up the bill in order to force the other party back to the negotiating table.