Senate opens Pentagon policy debate with focus on preventing sexual assaults

The Senate opened debate Tuesday on the annual Pentagon policy legislation with serious disagreements over reforms needed to address the growing problem of sexual assaults in the military.

The issue has virtually erased the usual partisan divides. Tea party favorite Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is among those backing a proposal from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to change the way sexual assault cases are prosecuted by the military. Gillibrand’s bill would take away from commanders the authority to decide who is prosecuted, leaving those decisions to outside independent prosecutors.