Work on sexual assault in military signals Gillibrand's evolution Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) stood on the Senate floor for hours Wednesday dominating a debate over how the Pentagon should manage sexual assault and rape in the ranks. Her main sparring partner was Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who is also pushing Congress to enact a significant change to military personnel policy. But Gillibrand is pushing for a more radical solution that would strip military commanders of any involvement in determining how rape and sexual assault cases are handled. What becomes of the senators" proposals and the defense authorization bill probably won't be decided until Congress returns in mid-December from a two-week Thanksgiving break. Even if Gillibrand comes up short on policy, she appears to have come out ahead politically. She has earned considerable goodwill from colleagues for methodically assembling a bipartisan coalition of support. On Wednesday, Gillibrand co-authored an op-ed on her proposal with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). The day before, she stood with Republicans and Democrats at a news conference intended to build support, and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced plans to back her. During an interview in her office this week, Gillibrand kicked off her high heals, tucked her legs under her on a couch and declared: "I know I can make a difference here. I know that I can find common ground with any senator in that chamber - any senator in that chamber - and I will look for those solutions. There is near-universal agreement among lawmakers that the Pentagon must find a way to curb incidents of sexual assault and rape. The military estimates that as many as 26,000 service members were the targets of unwanted sexual contact last year, but only 3,374 incidents of sexual assault were reported to military officials. In response, senators drafted this year's defense bill to include the most sigificant rewrite of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in five decades - some say ever. If passed as written, the legislation would end the statute of limitations on cases of sexual assault or rape; strip military commanders of the ability to overturn jury convictions in sexual assault and rape cases; require that civilians review commanders" decisions not to prosecute certain cases; make it a crime to retaliate against victims who report sexual assaults; and require the dishonorable discharge or dismissal of anyone convicted of sexual assault. But Gillibrand and her coalition want to go further by stripping military commanders of any involvement in cases of sexual assault or rape and turning them over to specialized military prosecutors. She has spent months meeting with nearly every other senator to lobby for their support. On Wednesday, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who is co-sponsoring Gillibrand's amendment, called her passion "inspiring." Dimissing suggestions that her advocacy is about bolstering her standing in the Senate or her political bona fides, Gillibrand said: "This really isn't about winning or losing. This is entirely about justice for victims of sexual assault and rape.