FORT HOOD, Texas — On Monday President Joe Biden signed the $770 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2022 fiscal year, the White House confirmed.
The bill included transforming the way the military dealt with sexual assault and harassment cases. The 'I Am Vanessa Guillen Act' was introduced by the Guillen family after the murder of Texas soldier Vanessa Guillen last year at Fort Hood.
Myra Guillen, Vanessa Guillen's sister, took to Twitter to express how she felt about the signing of the bill.
The Guillen Family attorney, Natalie Khawam, also responded to the news via Instagram. "[Soldiers] were afraid to report sexual harassment, out of fear that they wouldn't be believed or worse retaliated against for reporting it!? Well.. not anymore!!," part of Khawarm's Instagram post read.
The Guillen family and their attorney worked with lawmakers to get the bill passed.
In Texas, a similar bill called the Vanessa Guillen Act was signed in June and went into effect in the state on Sept. 1. The state's version of the bill does the same by aiming to protect state military members who report sexual assault.
