Huffington Post: Ruth Moore Act of 2013, Military Sexual Assault Bill, Highlights Survivors’ Struggle For Benefits

Ruth Moore’s career in the military began like many others: at age 18, she joined the Navy, “eager to fight” for her country. But two and a half months later, her supervisor raped her multiple times, Moore says, and she began her fight against the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration to get full disability benefits.

Now, nearly three decades later, an act bearing her name has been introduced to assist survivors of military sexual assault in securing their VA benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) put forth the Ruth Moore Act of 2013 Wednesday afternoon, a day after President Barack Obama pledged in the State of the Union to continue improving health care for veterans and expanding opportunities for women in combat.