introduced the Harry Lew and Danny Chen Military Justice Reform Act, which would initiate the process for criminalizing military hazing in the Military Code of Justice.
Will advance the Harry Lew and Danny Chen Military Justice Reform Act to criminalize military hazing in the Military Code of Justice.
Occurrences
Rep. Judy Chu introduced the Harry Lew and Danny Chen Military Justice Reform Act, which would initiate the process for criminalizing military hazing in the Military Code of Justice. Chu said, "As our current administration threatens to roll back these practices, we must fight to ensure our servicemembers are treated with dignity and respect."
Evidence
Section 549 of the enacted NDAA created a DoD anti-hazing database, required improved training, and ordered annual reports to Congress; the act became law in Public Law 114-328.
The hazing reporting requirement was time-limited, with annual reports due through January 31, 2021, showing the enacted fix was oversight-oriented rather than a permanent criminalization provision.
Assessments
Chu appears to have materially advanced military anti-hazing reforms, but the enacted result did not deliver the core promised outcome of criminalizing hazing in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The cited NDAA provision created a DoD anti-hazing database, training requirements, and reporting to Congress, which is meaningful but oversight-oriented and narrower than the promised reform act. Because the outcome addressed the issue in part without establishing the promised standalone criminal prohibition, partial credit is the best fit.