Federal legislation to protect cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London if they report sexual assault passed the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure this week.
U.S. Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) was instrumental in advancing safe-to-report legislation. The provision passed 53-3 as part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2024.
According to Courtney, it protects Coast Guard personnel, similar to how the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 protects cadets at West Point and Annapolis.
“Incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault had really spiked up, and Congress took the step forward to again provide safe harbor for complainants and victims to come forward and make sure that these events were investigated and sanctioned,” Courtney said.
The Coast Guard’s legal status kept it from being included in the 2021 law.
Courtney said a Coast Guard report revealed by CNN helped draw support for the new law.
“The Fouled Anchor report, which was reported on last summer, definitely demonstrated that this is a serious issue," Courtney said. "With a record of validation by the investigation, which the Coast Guard, to its credit, conducted. Obviously, the manner in which it was held back, I think, is something that the Senate committee is looking at very hard.”
A federal investigation into Operation Fouled Anchor is underway.
Similar safe-to-report legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Connecticut U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy (D-CT).
