NY1.com

  64º

You are not signed in  |  Sign in here  |  Help

You're viewing a lite version of NY1.com

Time Warner Cable customers: Sign in with your TWC ID for video access.

Get my TWC ID. | Get TWC service. | Read the FAQ.

Updated 05/19/2012 02:04 PM

House Passes Bill To Protect Hazed Soldiers

By: NY1 News

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

The House of Representatives passed a bill Friday aimed at preventing hazing in the military.

The bill, introduced by New York Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, requires the Department of Defense to develop a process to quickly transfer victims of hazing out of their current units.

Velazquez introduced the bill in response to the suicide of Private Danny Chen, a Chinatown native who killed himself after allegedly being harassed by fellow soldiers in Afghanistan.

Chen was 19 years old at the time.

"We're providing a tool to empower soldiers to be able to go to their superiors and to say 'look, I've been harassed, I've been tortured and I want to be transferred,'" Velazquez said.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has a similar measure under consideration in the Senate.

It would require the Secretary of Defense come up with a uniform plan for all the Armed Services to track, prevent and punish hazing.