Senate to vote on sex assault measures Thurs.

The Senate will vote on two competing measures addressing sexual assault in the military Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that votes to end debate on the bills from Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) would occur Thursday around 2 p.m. If cloture is invoked on either, the Senate would then move immediately to vote on final passage.

{mosads}Reid said last week that an agreement had been reached between the two parties to hold votes on the sexual assault measures this month.

The votes would be the culmination of a monthslong battle between Gillibrand and McCaskill over the best way for the military to prosecute sexual assault cases.

Gillibrand’s controversial measure would take the decision to prosecute sexual assault and other major criminal cases outside the chain of command, which would be a major overhaul of the military’s judicial code.

Gillibrand has gained the support of a diverse group of 55 senators, including Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Ky.).

But Gillibrand remains short of the 60 votes she would need to break a filibuster on the procedural vote.

Pentagon leaders staunchly oppose the bill, as do Gillibrand’s fellow Democrats McCaskill and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

Gillibrand told reporters Tuesday she was hopeful that she would reach the 60 votes needed to advance her bill. The New York senator has launched an intense lobbying effort to convince her colleagues to support her proposal, and her backers say some senators remain on the fence.

But McCaskill said Wednesday she was confident Gillibrand’s measure would be defeated.

“There are no undecideds,” she told The Hill. “It’d be very difficult, as long as we’ve been debating it,” she added, referring to the votes that nearly occurred on the competing bills during the November debate on the Defense authorization bill.

Gillibrand and her supporters argue that her legislation is needed because victims aren’t reporting sexual assault crimes to their commanders for fear of retaliation.

Her opponents say the commanders have to be held accountable for changing the military’s culture toward sexual assault and need to be able to punish offenders.

McCaskill’s bill, which will be voted on alongside Gillibrand’s legislation, would expand upon the reforms to military sexual assault that were passed in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act.

The measure includes an end to the “good soldier” defense and allows sexual assault victims to challenge their discharges from the military.

McCaskill’s bill, which would also require 60 votes, is expected to pass, as it is not controversial and is supported by Gillibrand.

— This article was updated at 7:40 p.m. with contributions from Ramsey Cox