In this Jan. 21, 2014, photo, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel , is interviewed by The Associated Press about her proposal to let military... (Associated Press) 
 
 The vote was 55-45, short of the 60 necessary to move ahead on the legislation sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. "Heartbreakingly, we fell five votes short of overcoming the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster, despite earning support from a majority of the Senate," she said, adding later: "Words can’t adequately express my disappointment – but I will never quit." Such records would shed more light on how military commanders make decisions about courts-martial and punishments in sexual assault cases and whether the inconsistent judgments seen in Japan are more widespread. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky backed her effort, while the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, opposed the measure.  Updated 5:44 p.m. 
 
 Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) year-long fight to dramatically overhaul how the Pentagon handles cases of sexual assault and rape fell short Thursday afternoon when she failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance her proposal to a final vote. The New York Democrat’s bill, which would have removed the chain of command from prosecuting sexual assaults and other major military crimes, was derailed in the Senate on a 55-45 vote, closing out one chapter in a debate that divided the Senate but not along typical partisan lines. And sure enough, the procedural vote to advance McCaskill’s bill Thursday was 100-0, though a vote on final passage was delayed until Monday as senators bolted the Capitol for a three-day weekend. After NDAA passed in 2013, President Obama said that he was giving the military one year to make progress on sexual assault in the ranks or he would “consider additional reforms.” 
 
 Gillibrand says that the measures in last year’s Defense bill are a step forward, but they don’t go nearly far enough. Gillibrand told reporters after the vote Thursday that "Many people said to me, 'Kirsten, I’m going to watch this and if it doesn’t get better in the next six months, I’m with you next time.'" “Too many of the members of the Senate have turned their back on these victims and survivors,” she said.  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday blocked a bill that would have stripped senior military commanders of their authority to prosecute or prevent charges for alleged rapes and other serious offenses, capping an emotional, nearly yearlong fight over how to curb sexual assault in the ranks. and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who was lobbied by Gillibrand right up to the minute before he cast his vote, had previously indicated support for the New York Democrat.
– New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand has lost her fight to dramatically change the way the Pentagon handles sex-assault cases, reports AP. For now, anyway. She needed 60 votes to overcome a filibuster but came up with only 55. And the Hill points out that this wasn't exactly a party-line vote: Eleven Republicans voted for the measure, including Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Mitch McConnell. But 10 Democrats voted against it, including Claire McCaskill and Carl Levin, reports Politico. Under Gillibrand's bill, military commanders would no longer be the ones to decide whether to prosecute cases from within the ranks. Instead, military lawyers would make the call. "The people who don't trust the chain of the command are the victims," said Gillibrand during debate. She and proponents say cases are going unreported because victims fear retribution. But critics such as McCaskill say that the measure would make things worse and that only the Pentagon's own commanders can get the problem under control. Gillibrand may have lost the high-profile vote, but the Washington Post lays out several ways she emerges a "big winner" nonetheless. Among other things, she has raised her stature in the Senate considerably, writes Ed O'Keefe. Gillibrand promised to bring up the proposal again and said she is confident it will pass the second time around.