President Obama is pressing leaders in the United States military to take another look at how they respond to sexual assault allegations in the military and to provide an extensive report in the next 12 months.
"As commander in chief, I've made it clear that these crimes have no place in the greatest military on earth," the President wrote in a statement.
Military leaders are expected to submit a report detailing the action they took after being approached with reports of sexual assault by Dec. 1, 2014, according to USA Today.
If the analyses aren't up to snuff, the President said "we will consider additional reforms that may be required to eliminate this crime from our military ranks and protect our brave service members who stand guard for us everyday at home and around the world."
The POTUS' statement was released just one day after both houses of Congress passed a new bill to tighten up and conduct more thorough probes into sexual assault reports in the military.
The legislation, which also gives a 1 percent pay raise to service members, passed in the Senate 84-15 on Thursday.
President Obama gave praise to New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill for their work "eradicating this scourge from our armed forces," in his statement.
Since 2012, the President has been pushing for more transparency and accountability in the military concerning sexual assault cases. He hailed the Pentagon's work introducing a "broad range of initiatives" earlier this year, including prevention programs, USA Today reported.
"Yet, so long as our women and men in uniform face the insider threat of sexual assault, we have an urgent obligation to do more to support victims and hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes as appropriate under the military justice system," Obama said.
