By Ed O’Keefe and Sean Sullivan, Washington Post – Military and political history will be made Tuesday when all six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testify at the same time before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the rising rate of sexual assaults among members of the military.

The chiefs have told Congress in writing in recent days that they oppose or have strong reservations about a contentious bill that would reshape military law for prosecuting sexual assault and other crimes, setting up a likely clash with lawmakers who are pushing the idea.

Among those lawmakers are the record seven women who sit on the Armed Services panel and are supporting several different proposals to reshape how the Pentagon deals with sexual assault cases. The contrast — six male military chiefs appearing before a committee stacked with more women than ever before — will provide the latest proof of how the expanding role and influence of women in Congress is reshaping policy debates on Capitol Hill.

The numbers on sexual assaults are stark: A Pentagon survey of active-duty military personnel released this month found that 6.1 percent of women and 1.2 percent of men reported receiving “unwanted sexual contact” last year. Only a small fraction of those reported the incidents.

A recent Washington Post story noted that the women serving on Armed Services believe that their gradually increasing numbers in Congress have undoubtedly given them more political clout on the issue of sexual assaults in the ranks. There’s a consensus among them that more laws are needed to tackle the problem, but disagreement over which proposals would be most effective.

Here’s a quick review of the seven women on the panel — in order of seniority — what they’ve said on the topic in recent days and information on the bills they’ve introduced or agreed to sponsor to help address the problem.

via 7 women to watch at the military sexual assault hearing.