[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 44 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 44

    Expressing the sense of the Congress that medical examiners and 
coroners should make reasonable, good faith efforts to locate the next 
                    of kin of deceased individuals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 1993

    Mr. Goodling (for himself and Mr. Hyde) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                         Government Operations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing the sense of the Congress that medical examiners and 
coroners should make reasonable, good faith efforts to locate the next 
                    of kin of deceased individuals.

Whereas often times families lose contact with family members, making it 
        difficult to locate a deceased family member who has not let records 
        regarding next of kin;
Whereas some families search for years to locate a family member, only to 
        discover they had died and the family was never notified; and
Whereas there is not a consistent procedure used by medical examiners and 
        coroners in the United States to follow in attempting to locate the next 
        of kin of a deceased individual: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the States should develop procedures that require 
        medical examiners and coroners to make reasonable, good faith 
        efforts to locate and notify the next of kin of deceased 
        persons in situations where the identity of the deceased is 
        unknown or is known but the identity of next of kin is unknown; 
        and
            (2) the reasonable, good faith efforts referred to in 
        paragraph (1) should include, at a minimum, requirements that 
        medical examiners and coroners contact the Social Security 
        Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs to obtain 
        information on the background of deceased persons along with--
                    (A) checking for personal papers, phone lists, 
                letters, and other documents at the place of death and 
                current residence of the deceased;
                    (B) checking for a will or insurance policies;
                    (C) checking local hospitals for previous 
                admissions of the deceased;
                    (D) checking the listings in local telephone 
                directories;
                    (E) checking city directories;
                    (F) checking law enforcement agencies;
                    (G) checking local financial institutions for 
                possible accounts of the deceased with beneficiaries;
                    (H) checking with neighbors of the deceased;
                    (I) placing notices in local newspapers and 
                electronic media;
                    (J) sending fingerprints of the deceased to the 
                Federal Bureau of Investigation;
                    (K) contacting the place of employment of the 
                deceased;
                    (L) checking with records registrar for deaths of 
                individuals with the same name as the deceased;
                    (M) if the place of birth of the deceased is known, 
                contacting the registrar, law enforcement agencies, and 
                hospitals in that area;
                    (N) using the police telenetwork; and
                    (O) checking with the Secretary of State in the 
                State where the deceased died.

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