[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H683-H687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              BILLY'S LAW

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3695) to authorize funding for, and increase 
accessibility to, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, 
to facilitate data sharing between such system and the National Crime 
Information Center database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to 
provide incentive grants to help facilitate reporting to such systems, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3695

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Help Find the Missing Act'' 
     or ``Billy's Law''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL MISSING AND 
                   UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS SYSTEM.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General, through the Director 
     of the National Institute of Justice, is authorized to 
     maintain public databases, known as the ``National Missing 
     and Unidentified Persons System'' or ``NamUs'', to contain 
     missing persons records and unidentified remains cases for 
     purposes of assisting to identify missing people and solve 
     cases of unidentified human remains. All functions, 
     personnel, assets, liabilities, and administrative actions 
     applicable to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons 
     System carried out by the National Institute of Justice on 
     the date before the date of the enactment of this Act shall 
     be transferred to the National Missing and Unidentified 
     Persons System authorized under this section as of the date 
     of the enactment of this Act.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,400,000 for 
     each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2016.

     SEC. 3. SHARING OF INFORMATION BETWEEN NCIC AND NAMUS.

       (a) Sharing of Information.--Not later than the end of the 
     30-day period beginning on the date the online data entry 
     format is updated under subsection (c), the Attorney General 
     shall, in accordance with this section, provide for 
     information on missing persons and unidentified human remains 
     contained in the NCIC database (as defined in section 7) to 
     be transmitted to, entered in, and otherwise shared with the 
     NamUs databases (as defined in such section) and for such 
     information contained in the NamUs databases to be 
     transmitted to, entered in, and otherwise shared with the 
     NCIC database.
       (b) Rules on Confidentiality.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 
     consultation with the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation (in this Act referred to as the ``FBI''), shall 
     promulgate rules pursuant to notice and comment that specify 
     the information the Attorney General may provide from the 
     NCIC files to the NamUs databases for purposes of this Act. 
     Such rules shall--
       (A) provide for the protection of law enforcement 
     sensitive, confidential, and private information contained in 
     the NCIC files;
       (B) be promulgated only after the Director approves 
     recommendations by the Advisory Policy Board of the Criminal 
     Justice Information Services Division of the FBI;

[[Page H684]]

       (C) specify the circumstances in which portions of 
     information may be withheld from transfer, entry, or sharing 
     from the NCIC database to the NamUs databases; and
       (D) provide that once an authorized agency provides an 
     authorization to permit the transmission, entering, or 
     sharing of information (or portions of information) from the 
     NCIC database to the NamUs databases, such authorization 
     shall be deemed to apply to any updates made to such 
     information, unless otherwise specified by the agency.
       (2) Submissions prior to online data entry format update.--
     With respect to information submitted to the NCIC database 
     before the end of the 30-day period specified in subsection 
     (a), the Attorney General may solicit from appropriate 
     authorized agencies authorization to transmit, enter, or 
     share such information.
       (c) Updates.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall update 
     the online data entry format for the NCIC database and NamUs 
     databases to provide State criminal justice agencies, offices 
     of medical examiners, and offices of coroners with the option 
     to authorize the submission of new information and data that 
     is reported to and entered into the NCIC database to 
     simultaneously be submitted to and entered into the NamUs 
     databases.
       (2) NCIC format.--
       (A) In general.--In the case of the NCIC database, an 
     update described in paragraph (1) shall include--
       (i) an update to the NCIC database online data entry format 
     that States use in submitting missing persons and 
     unidentified remains reports, including the addition of a new 
     data field allowing States, on behalf of the authorized 
     agency that originally submitted the data, to select whether 
     or not to have the NCIC report, subject to the rules 
     promulgated under subsection (b), shared with the NamUs 
     databases; and
       (ii) subject to subparagraph (B), a requirement that as a 
     condition of participating in the NCIC database, States must 
     update their missing persons and unidentified remains 
     collection processes from local and tribal law enforcement, 
     medical examiners, and coroners to enable the States to 
     acquire information on whether or not the authorized agencies 
     originally submitting data with respect to a missing person 
     or unidentified remains have provided authorization to share 
     the information with the NamUs databases.
       (B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not apply with 
     respect to any State that has in effect a State law providing 
     for a methodology to authorize the sharing of information 
     between the NCIC database and NamUs databases.
       (d) Amendments to Title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 
     1990 to Require Reports of Missing Children to NamUs.--
       (1) Reporting requirement.--Section 3701(a) of title XXXVII 
     of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5779(a)) is 
     amended by striking the period and inserting the following: 
     ``and, consistent with section 3 (including rules promulgated 
     pursuant to section 3(b)) of the Help Find the Missing Act, 
     shall also report such case, either directly or through 
     authorization described in such section to transmit, enter, 
     or share information on such case, to the NamUs databases (as 
     defined in section 7 of such Act).''.
       (2) State requirements.--Section 3702 of title XXXVII of 
     the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5780) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or the National Crime 
     Information Center computer database'' and inserting ``, the 
     National Crime Information Center computer database, or the 
     NamUs databases (as defined in section 7 of the Help Find the 
     Missing Act)'';
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and the National Crime 
     Information Center computer networks'' and inserting ``, the 
     National Crime Information Center computer networks, and the 
     NamUs databases (as so defined)''; and
       (C) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     ``or the NamUs databases'' after ``National Crime Information 
     Center''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and National Crime 
     Information Center computer networks'' and inserting ``, 
     National Crime Information Center computer networks, and the 
     NamUs databases''.
       (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
     shall apply with respect to reports made before, on, or after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act beginning on the last 
     day of the 30-day period described in subsection (a).

     SEC. 4. INCENTIVE GRANTS PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than one year after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 
     establish a program to provide grants to qualifying law 
     enforcement agencies (as defined in subsection (j)), offices 
     of coroners, offices of medical examiners, and other 
     authorized agencies to facilitate the process of reporting 
     information regarding missing persons and unidentified 
     remains to the NCIC database and NamUs databases for purposes 
     of assisting in locating such missing persons and identifying 
     such remains.
       (b) Requirements.--As a condition of a grant under this 
     section, a grant recipient shall, with respect to each case 
     reported to the agency or office of the recipient relating to 
     a missing person described in a category under subsection (e) 
     or relating to unidentified remains--
       (1) not later than 72 hours after such case is reported to 
     the agency or office and consistent with subsection (c), 
     submit to the NCIC database and NamUs databases--
       (A) in the case of a missing person described in a category 
     under subsection (e), at least the minimum information 
     described in subsection (f)(1); and
       (B) in the case of unidentified remains, at least the 
     minimum information described in subsection (f)(2); and
       (2) not later than 60 days after the original entry of the 
     report, verify and update any original report entered into 
     the State law enforcement system, the NCIC database, or NamUs 
     databases after receipt of the grant with any additional 
     information, including, to the greatest extent possible--
       (A) information on the extent to which DNA samples are 
     available, including the availability of such samples 
     submitted to the National DNA Index System under subsection 
     (b)(3);
       (B) fingerprints, medical and dental records, and 
     photographs of any distinguishing characteristics such as 
     scars, marks, tattoos, piercings, and other unique physical 
     characteristics;
       (C) in the case of unidentified remains, photographs or 
     digital images that may assist in identifying the decedent, 
     including fingerprint cards, radiographs, palmprints, and 
     distinctive features of the decedent's personal effects; and
       (D) any other information determined to be appropriate by 
     the Attorney General; and
       (3) not later than 60 days after the original entry of the 
     report, to the greatest extent possible, submit to the 
     National DNA Index System of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation, established pursuant to section 210304 of the 
     Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 
     (either directly or through use of NamUs victims assistance 
     resources and DNA collection services) DNA samples and 
     information relating to such case.
     For purposes of paragraph (2), in the case of information a 
     grant recipient authorizes to be transferred, entered, or 
     shared under section 3 between the NCIC database and NamUs 
     databases, any update to such information shall be 
     simultaneously made with respect to both databases unless 
     specified otherwise by the recipient.
       (c) Submission of Reports.--To satisfy subsection (b)(1), a 
     recipient of a grant under this section shall submit 
     information required under such subsection--
       (1) separately to the NCIC database and NamUs databases; or
       (2) in accordance with section 3, simultaneously to the 
     NamUs databases when reporting to the NCIC database or to the 
     NCIC database when reporting to the NamUs databases.
       (d) Permissible Use of Funds.--
       (1) In general.--The permissible uses of grants awarded 
     under this section include the use of funds--
       (A) to hire additional personnel, to acquire technology to 
     facilitate timely data entry into the relevant databases;
       (B) to conduct contracting activities relevant to 
     outsourcing the processing of unidentified remains and the 
     reporting of the resulting information to the NCIC database 
     and NamUs databases;
       (C) to train local law enforcement personnel, medical 
     examiners, and coroners to use the NCIC database and NamUs 
     databases;
       (D) to assist States' transition into the new system under 
     which information is shared between the NCIC database and 
     NamUs databases; and
       (E) for other purposes consistent with the goals of this 
     section.
       (2) Clarification.--In no case may a recipient of a grant 
     under this section use funds to enter or help facilitate the 
     entrance of any false or misleading information about missing 
     persons or unidentified remains.
       (e) Categories of Missing Persons.--The categories of 
     missing persons described in this subsection are the 
     following:
       (1) A missing person age 21 or older who--
       (A) is senile or is suffering from a proven mental or 
     physical disability, as documented by a source deemed 
     credible to an appropriate law enforcement entity; or
       (B) is missing under circumstances that indicate, as 
     determined by an appropriate law enforcement entity--
       (i) that the person's physical safety may be endangered;
       (ii) that the disappearance may not have been voluntary, 
     such as abduction or kidnapping; or
       (iii) that the disappearance may have been caused by a 
     natural disaster or catastrophe (such as an airplane crash or 
     terrorist attack).
       (2) A missing person who does not meet the criteria 
     described in paragraph (1) but who meets one of the following 
     criteria:
       (A) There is a reasonable concern, as determined by an 
     appropriate law enforcement entity, for the safety of the 
     missing person.
       (B) The person is under age 21 and emancipated under the 
     laws of the person's State of residence.
       (f) Minimum Information Required.--
       (1) Content for missing persons.--The minimum information 
     described in this section, with respect to a missing person, 
     is the following:
       (A) The name, date of birth, city and State of residence, 
     gender, race, height, weight, eye color, and hair color of 
     the missing person.
       (B) The date and location of the last known contact with 
     the missing person.
       (C) The category described in subsection (e) in which the 
     missing person is classified.
       (2) Content for unidentified human remains.--The minimum 
     information described in this section, with respect to 
     unidentified human remains, is the following:
       (A) The estimated age, gender, race, height, weight, hair 
     color, and eye color.
       (B) Any distinguishing characteristics such as scars, 
     marks, tattoos, piercings, and other unique physical 
     characteristics.
       (C) A description of clothing found on the decedent.
       (D) City and State where the unidentified human remains 
     were found.
       (E) Information on how to contact the law enforcement 
     agency handling the investigation and the unidentified human 
     remains.

[[Page H685]]

       (F) Information on the extent to which DNA samples are 
     available, including the availability of such samples 
     submitted to the National DNA Index System under subsection 
     (b)(3).
       (g) Administration.--The Attorney General shall prescribe 
     requirements, including with respect to applications, for 
     grants awarded under this section and shall determine the 
     amount of each such grant.
       (h) Confidentiality.--As a condition of a grant under this 
     section, the recipient of the grant shall ensure that 
     information reported under the grant meets the requirements 
     promulgated by the Attorney General under section 3(b)(1).
       (i) Annual Summary.--For each of the fiscal years 2012 
     through 2015, the Attorney General shall publish an annual 
     statistical summary of the reports required by subsection 
     (c).
       (j) Qualifying Law Enforcement Agency Defined.--For 
     purposes of this Act, the term ``qualifying law enforcement 
     agency'' means a State, local, or tribal law enforcement 
     agency.
       (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 
     each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015.

     SEC. 5. REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Attorney General shall issue a report to 
     offices of medical examiners, offices of coroners, and 
     Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies 
     describing the best practices for the collection, reporting, 
     and analysis of data and information on missing persons and 
     unidentified human remains. Such best practices shall--
       (1) provide an overview of the NCIC database and NamUs 
     databases;
       (2) describe how local law enforcement agencies, offices of 
     medical examiners, and offices of coroners should access and 
     use the NCIC database and NamUs databases;
       (3) describe the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 
     NCIC database and NamUs databases; and
       (4) describe the standards and protocols for the 
     collection, reporting, and analysis of data and information 
     on missing persons and unidentified human remains.

     SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the 
     Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
     on the Judiciary of the Senate a report describing the status 
     of the NCIC database and NamUs databases.
       (b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     describe, to the extent available, information on--
       (1) the process of information sharing between the NCIC 
     database and NamUs databases; and
       (2) the programs funded by grants awarded under section 4.

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
     apply:
        (a) Authorized Agency.--The term ``authorized agency'' 
     means a government agency with an originating agency 
     identification (ORI) number and that is a criminal justice 
     agency, as defined for purposes of subpart A of part 20 of 
     title 28, Code of Federal Regulations.
       (b) NamUs Databases.--The term ``NamUs databases'' means 
     the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Missing 
     Persons database and National Missing and Unidentified 
     Persons System Unidentified Decedents database maintained by 
     the National Institute of Justice of the Department of 
     Justice.
       (c) NCIC Database.--The term ``NCIC database'' means the 
     National Crime Information Center Missing Person File and 
     National Crime Information Center Unidentified Person File of 
     the National Crime Information Center database of the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation, established pursuant to section 534 
     of title 28, United States Code.
       (d) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
     United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, the Help Find the Missing Act, or Billy's Law, will 
help families of missing persons find their loved ones by strengthening 
Federal databases about missing persons and unidentified remains.
  Every year, tens of thousands of Americans go missing and are never 
found. In the subcommittee we heard moving testimony from Ms. Janice 
Smolinski, whose son, Billy, went missing in 2004. While she has not 
found her son, she has dedicated her life to improving the system for 
others, including highlighting the need to strengthen and expand access 
to our missing persons databases. I thank her for her dedication to 
this worthy cause.
  Billy's Law will facilitate the sharing of information between the 
FBI's NCIC databases and the NamUs databases recently established by 
the National Institute of Justice. Facilitating information-sharing 
between those two databases will assist the public, medical examiners, 
and coroners in looking for missing persons and identifying remains.
  Billy's Law also authorizes grants for personnel, technology, and 
training to help States submit data to NCIC and NamUs. These grants 
will strengthen the system by providing an incentive for States to 
provide critical information to the databases shortly after missing 
person cases are reported.
  This bill is strongly supported by the Department of Justice. And I 
would like to commend our colleagues, the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Murphy) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), for their hard 
work on this piece of legislation.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3695.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I'm proud to join my colleague, Mr. Murphy, in 
supporting and sponsoring H.R. 3695, the ``Help Find the Missing Act'' 
or ``Billy's Law,'' as we call it.
  It's my pleasure today to speak in support of a commonsense piece of 
legislation that probably should have been passed years ago. I would 
like to thank my colleague, Congressman Murphy, for taking this worthy 
cause and asking me to work with him on it.
  I'd also like to thank a citizen of our Nation, Janice Smolinski, the 
mother of Billy Smolinski, for whom this bill is named. Without her 
devotion and the time that she spent on this issue, Billy's Law never 
would have happened. Her work, along with the response of her 
representative, Congressman Murphy, to create this legislation is an 
example of Congress working the way our Founders intended it to.
  Janice Smolinski talked to her congressman, Mr. Murphy. He listened. 
He responded. He moved quickly, and thus this piece of legislation is 
brought to the House to solve this problem.
  In the years since her son's disappearance, Janice Smolinski has 
worked to improve our Nation's reporting system for the missing so that 
other families do not have to suffer as she did. As we vote today on 
Billy's Law, it is imperative for us to remember how important this 
bill is to people like Janice Smolinski all over the country.
  There is a great need to improve our Nation's tracking of missing 
persons and identification of unknown and unidentified remains. This 
bill is a big step in fulfilling both of these goals.
  Every year, tens of thousands of Americans disappear. They go 
missing, never to be seen by their loved ones again. In 2009, there 
were more than 100,000 missing persons records active in the FBI's 
National Crime Information Center.
  Simultaneously, medical examiners and coroners across the country are 
holding tens of thousands of unidentified remains. There are an 
estimated 40,000 sets of unidentified remains being held by coroners 
throughout the country.
  But as of January 2009, the NCIC database contains only 7,000 records 
of unidentified remains. This means that medical examiners and coroners 
offices are not recording in the NCIC database many of the unidentified 
remains they hold. Consequently, it is likely that many missing person 
cases remain open for failure to connect missing person profiles with 
unidentified remains that are being held.
  There are many Federal, State, local, and nonprofit databases 
designed to help, but these databases are not sufficiently accessible 
to the public, and they do not do a good job of sharing information 
with each other.
  Billy's Law addresses all of these concerns by increasing funding for 
a national, online repository and reporting system called NamUs, the 
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Billy's Law provides 
that the

[[Page H686]]

FBI's NCIC database share information on missing and unidentified 
persons with the NamUs database system.
  The goal is to have corners, medical examiners, law enforcement 
agents, and the public all reporting information to and getting 
information from one centralized Web site, NamUs.
  Billy's Law also requires the Attorney General to establish a program 
to provide grants to qualifying medical examiners, coroners and law 
enforcement agencies for the purpose of facilitating better reporting 
of missing persons and unidentified remains to the NCIC and NamUs 
databases.
  Having served as a prosecutor in Texas for over 8 years and a felony 
court judge for 22 years, I know firsthand the toll that violent crime 
puts on communities, but specifically on families. This pain is made 
even worse when a family of a victim is not able to determine what 
exactly happened to their missing loved one. Often, families have to 
wait for months or years until they can find closure. Some families, 
like the Smolinskis, never find out what happened to their loved one.
  Shortly after I was elected to Congress, I started the Victims' 
Rights Caucus. This Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members of 
Congress, cochaired by myself and Mr. Costa from California, that 
supports legislation and advocates for policies that will help victims 
of crime in the United States and the families of victims. H.R. 3695 is 
one of these bills.
  Billy's Law is supported by the National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children, the National Organization of Police Associations, 
and the National Association of Medical Examiners.
  I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the sponsor of Billy's Law, the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Murphy).
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. First of all, let me extend my sincerest 
thanks to the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Scott, for bringing 
this bill to the floor with such speed, and then let me extend 
additional thanks to the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Conyers, 
and Ranking Members Gohmert and Smith for their assistance in bringing 
this bill to the floor today.
  Madam Speaker, when I was home over the break, I told a lot of people 
that I saw that for all of the attention on the news about the things 
that Republicans and Democrats disagree with, this legislation, Billy's 
Law, is an example of the vast legislative underbrush that happens here 
that changes lives but don't necessarily get the big headlines, places 
where both parties work together to make this government work better 
and to make it more compassionate.
  I'd like to thank Representative Poe for sponsoring this bill with 
me. This House has no stronger advocate for the rights of victims and 
their families, and it has been my pleasure to work with him to move 
this legislation forward.
  But above all, I'd like to extend my personal thanks to Jan Smolinski 
and her husband Bill, the parents of Billy Smolinski, for whom this 
legislation is named. Their story is tragic, but Jan's pursuit of 
justice, her desire to do something with her situation, to change it 
for all of the other families who have gone through the same thing, 
that is nothing less than heroic.
  Madam Speaker, Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut, went 
missing on August 24, 2004, at the age of 31. In their search for their 
son, Jan and her husband Bill encountered a national missing persons 
system that is simply broken. They were met with law enforcement that 
didn't understand how to handle an adult missing persons case, and then 
they ran into a national system of disconnected and inaccessible 
databases that didn't allow them to be true partners in the search for 
justice. To this day, they haven't found Billy.
  Sadly, their story is not a unique one. Every year, thousands of 
Americans go missing, often never to be seen by their loved ones again. 
In fact, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are over 
100,000 missing persons cases open at any time and approximately 4,400 
unidentified human remains are found every single year. Now, those 
numbers are too high, but just as intolerable are the roadblocks that 
family members face when they're trying to help law enforcement find a 
missing loved one.
  That is why I am here to urge my friends to join us in supporting 
Billy's Law, legislation that will begin correcting these problems that 
plague our Nation's missing persons system.
  My colleagues have really gone over the basics of the law so I won't 
belabor the point. But this legislation for the first time provides 
statutory authorization for NamUs, which is the Web-based database 
created in 2007 by the Department of Justice. It's the only federally 
funded database of missing persons and unidentified remains information 
that is open and accessible to the public. But currently it's not a 
congressionally authorized program.
  Second, the bill connects NamUs with the other major Federal database 
housed at the FBI, which is now only accessible to law enforcement. We 
protect information that needs to stay private, but this new connected 
database, which will also work with protocols that build in other 
information from State and local nonprofit databases, creates a 
complete and powerful national powerful database that families can use 
along with law enforcement.
  And third, as has been stated, it sets up a competitive grants 
program to make sure that all the information that a coroner may have 
in California is posted onto a national database so a family searching 
for their missing loved one in Connecticut has that information in real 
time.
  On January 21, Madam Speaker, Jan Smolinski testified at a hearing on 
the bill that Subcommittee Chairman Scott so graciously held. During 
her testimony, she poignantly remarked, ``Uncertainty is a cancer that 
crushes the spirit of loved ones left behind, destroys marriages, and 
tears at the tissue of family bonds.''
  By creating a robust, user-friendly national missing persons and 
unidentified remains database, Billy's law will help heal these wounds 
by finally giving parents and family members like the Smolinskis the 
ability to be true partners with law enforcement in the search for 
their loved ones.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. We owe it to 
the Smolinskis and to thousands of families like them across the 
country to make sure their personal nightmares are not repeated.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite) who is a cosponsor of this 
legislation and who has also worked in the past on similar legislation.
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today in 
support of Billy's Law. I want to thank the many tireless advocates of 
missing children everywhere, and I certainly want to commend 
Representative Murphy for sponsoring this very important piece of 
legislation.
  Every day thousands of people are reported missing. The good news is 
that many of them are quickly located by our heroes in the local law 
enforcement agencies. What happens to those who are not found in the 
first few very critical days after they're reported missing? In the 
past, the names were noted in files of local police agencies, but 
without any leads, investigators were left with few options and their 
names lingered on this list.
  Madam Speaker, in 2005, a group of people that included Federal, 
State, and local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, forensic 
scientists, and other experts gathered in Philadelphia to discuss ways 
to solve missing persons cases. The National Missing and Unidentified 
Persons System is a result of that effort.
  Local and State law enforcement agencies need a central database to 
which they can turn, and that is why I believe NamUs is so important. 
NamUs has also launched a DNA initiative, which is an effort to make 
sure we are using DNA technology in every way possible to track down 
missing persons. Billy's Law provides grants to local law enforcement 
agencies to improve their access to DNA technology and to NamUs.
  In my district, Milton and Evelyn Nerenberg have spent years trying 
to find out what happened to their missing daughter, Audrey. Frustrated 
that

[[Page H687]]

their daughter, too, remains missing, the Nerenbergs came to me for 
help. They were concerned that the Federal Government was not doing 
enough to make sure that information gathered in central Florida, for 
example, where they lived, was being shared with the right people in 
other parts of the country. They also wanted to make sure that the DNA 
technology be made available to law enforcement agencies throughout our 
Nation as well as in Florida. Billy's Law will make it happen. It is 
very similar to the legislation I previously introduced and that was 
named after Audrey Nerenberg.
  Important progress has been made in the past 5 years, but more must 
be done. Forty thousand missing persons, including Audrey Nerenberg 
from my district, their families will certainly benefit from this 
legislation.
  I have worked in previous Congresses to improve the Federal 
Government's ability to locate missing persons, and as a cosponsor, I 
am very pleased to see Billy's Law come to the floor, and I will be 
proud to vote in favor of its passage.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank the chairman, Chairman Scott, for bringing this 
legislation to the House floor as quickly as he has done, and, of 
course, Mr. Murphy from Connecticut, the excellent job he has done to 
bring this legislation to our attention and make sure that this House 
creates a system where people can find their loved ones.
  As a parent, the worst thing that any parent could hear is the fact 
that their child has disappeared. That would bring terror and fear into 
any parent. As a parent of four kids, I know that. I think about that 
constantly.
  When Janice Smolinski learned that her son, Billy, had disappeared, 
she, like every mother would do, was relentless in finding out as much 
as she could about his disappearance. Unfortunately, she met a lot of 
stone walls in the criminal justice system. She had put posters up all 
over her neighborhood. She called everybody she knew. She called the 
police, and she got on the Internet trying to find out ways she could 
locate Billy. She was relentless in that pursuit.
  And then she came in contact with her Congressman. The old statement 
``call your Congressman,'' it worked, and it should have worked in this 
case and it worked well.
  I commend her and other people like her who work to find their loved 
ones but also to make our system better. So when people that disappear, 
we are able to find out as much as we can about their disappearance and 
where they are because we're all in this together.
  My grandmother used to say that there is nothing more powerful than a 
woman who has made up her mind. This is a perfect example of that. 
Janice Smolinski, a mother, a lady, has done everything she can to find 
Billy, and now it's time for Congress to do what it can to make sure 
that all of these different organizations that have information are 
connected through the Internet, through sophisticated technology, so 
that we can keep up with all of these children who turn up missing.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I want to thank the gentleman from Connecticut 
and the gentleman from Texas for their work on this bill. I urge my 
colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3695, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________