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             White House, Lawmakers to Meet on Military Sex Crimes

   by Reuters

   The White House has invited about a dozen lawmakers to a meeting on
   Thursday to discuss how to combat the sharp increase in sexual assaults
   in the military, a White House official said.

   Earlier this week, the Pentagon released its [1]2012 annual report on
   sexual assault in the military, which showed a 37 percent jump in
   estimated sex crimes to 26,000.

   Thursday's meeting will be led by Valerie Jarrett, a top advisor to
   Obama, and Tina Tchen, chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama, who
   lead the White House Council on Women and Girls, which coordinates and
   elevates federal policies on women's issues across the government.

   The Pentagon report came just after the Air Force removed the head of
   its sexual assault prevention office after he was charged with groping
   a woman while drunk in a parking lot near the Pentagon.

   President Barack Obama reacted with anger to the report and the
   incident, and vowed to "root this out completely."

   "We find out somebody's engaging in this stuff, they've got to be held
   accountable. Prosecuted. Stripped out of their positions.
   Court-martialed. Fired. Dishonorably discharged. Period. It's not
   acceptable," Obama said on Tuesday.

   Lawmakers have been outraged by the reports, excoriating military
   leaders at hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday for failing to deal with a
   long history of sex assault scandals.

   The list of invited lawmakers was not available before the meeting, but
   Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire and Kay Hagan
   from North Carolina announced they would attend, as did Republican
   Representative Mike Turner of Ohio, co-chair of the Military Sexual
   Assault Prevention Caucus.

   "The list that was invited was bicameral, bipartisan, both women and
   men, brought in to participate in a discussion on combating sexual
   assault in the military," a White House official said.
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/white-house-officials-lawmakers-to-me
   et-on-military-sex-crime-problem/1657733.html

References

   1. http://www.defense.gov/news/sexualassaultannualreportfactsheet.pdf
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/white-house-officials-lawmakers-to-meet-on-military-sex-crime-problem/1657733.html