For Texas Republican Ted Cruz, it got personal Tuesday when he joined a bipartisan group of senators trying to reform the way the military prosecutes sexual assault within its ranks.

"I have two little girls who are seven and four," Cruz said during a Capitol Hill press conference Tuesday. "As I've approached this issue, I've thought about when my daughters come of age, if they choose to step up and serve the country, what rules should be in place to protect my daughters from sexual assault?"

Cruz supported an amendment that would establish military prosecutors to investigate allegations of assault, taking the cases out of the ordinary military chain of command. The Pentagon has opposed the measure sponsored New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. It failed to gain the 60 votes it needed to pass, but backers vowed to press on.

"This is a common sense reform that makes the prosecuting decisions be made by a professional military prosecutor," Cruz said. "Leaves it in the military, but simply leaves it with a prosecutor rather than the immediate commanding officer who many times may face a conflict of interest."