H.R. 4991

Prevent Retaliation and Open up Transparency to Expand Care for Troops Act of 2016 or the PROTECT Act

This bill amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to establish the offense of retaliation. Retaliation provisions require that any person subject to the code who, with the intent to retaliate against any person for reporting or planning to report a criminal offense, or with the intent to discourage any person from reporting a criminal offense, wrongfully takes or threatens to take an adverse personnel action against any person, or wrongfully withholds or threatens to withhold a favorable personnel action with respect to any person, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

The Department of Defense (DOD) shall prescribe uniform standards for conduct of each of the following functions at all stages of the military justice system, including pretrial, trial, post-trial, and appellate processes:

• collection and analysis of data concerning substantive offenses and procedural matters in a manner that facilitates case management and decision making and enhances the quality of periodic reviews;
• case processing and management;
• timely and accurate production and distribution of trial records; and
• facilitation of access to docket information, filings, and records.

Each military department shall ensure that any individual investigating an allegation of retaliation against a person who has made a protected communication must have training in the definition and characteristics of retaliation. If the investigation involves alleged retaliation in response to a communication regarding rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct, the training shall include specific instruction regarding such violations.

It is the sense of Congress that DOD should ensure that its medical and mental health providers are adequately trained to meet the needs of male survivors of military sexual trauma.