A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday passed a bill proposed by Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, that would prohibit the Coast Guard Academy from punishing cadets for minor offenses after they have reported an incident of sexual assault.

The provision, part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2024, passed 53-3 in the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Courtney’s office said in a news release. In February, Courtney and other committee members introduced the Coast Guard Protection and Accountability Act, which included the safe-to-report provision, which was included in the legislation passed Wednesday.

“Committee passage of the safe to report policy marks a significant step forward by Congress and the Coast Guard to provide greater protections for military personnel reporting sexual assault and codifies protections that students have at all other military academies,” Courtney said.

Courtney said he has been working to safeguard protections for Coast Guard cadets since the issue “was brought to light because of the courageous cadets and faculty who brought this to my office’s attention in 2018.”

Similar safe-to-report legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Democrats.