By Chad Garland, News21

This has been an eventful week for the Pentagon, with Senate hearings on increased sexual assaults in the military between 2010 and 2012, the House Armed Services Committee debate over the defense authorization bill, and authorizing spending for certain Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs activities.

What We’re Reading:

Lawmakers include sex assault reforms in 2014 funding bill (Leo Shane III, 6/5, Stars & Stripes) Sexual assault and sequester were among the Pentagon’s biggest headaches on the Hill this week. The House Armed Services Committee debate on the 2014 funding bill ties them together.

Five Ways Congress is Trying to Curb Rape in the Military (Christie Thompson, 6/5, ProPublica) Thompson provides a rundown of key congressional proposals to crackdown on sex crimes in the military.

With graduation, Iraq student veteran transitions to her new life (Kristen Moulton, 5/6, The Salt Lake Tribune) The latest in a series of articles following Jen Carver Comer, a student and Iraq war veteran, as she completes her undergraduate degree at Weber State University in northern Utah.

New anti-party rules for soldiers at Defense Language Institute in Monterey (Amy Larson, 6/4, KSBW Action News 8) Lt. Col. Frank Smith, commander of the U.S. Army’s 229th Military Intelligence Battalion at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., issued new restrictions on entry-level soldiers in an effort to “mitigate risks historically associated with sexual misconduct.”

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2216) The bill, which passed the House Tuesday, authorizes appropriations for certain Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs spending.