[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 209 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H10362-H10364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1430
         SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE REPORTING ACT OF 2017

  Mrs. HANDEL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 1766) to reauthorize the SAFER Act of 2013, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1766

       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 ``Sexual Assault Forensic 
     Evidence Reporting Act of 2017'' or the ``SAFER Act of 
     2017''.

     SEC. 2. PEDIATRIC SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINERS.

       Section 304(c)(2) of the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 
     2004 (34 U.S.C. 40723(c)(2)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``, both adult and pediatric,'' after 
     ``role of forensic nurses''; and
       (2) by striking ``and elder abuse'' and inserting ``elder 
     abuse, and, in particular, the need for pediatric sexual 
     assault nurse examiners, including such nurse examiners 
     working in the multidisciplinary setting, in responding to 
     abuse of both children and adolescents''.

     SEC. 3. REDUCING THE RAPE KIT BACKLOG.

       (a) Reauthorization.--Section 2(c)(4) of the DNA Analysis 
     Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (34 U.S.C. 40701(c)(4)) is 
     amended by striking ``2017'' and inserting ``2022''.
       (b) Sunset.--Section 1006 of the SAFER Act of 2013 (34 
     U.S.C. 40701 note) is amended by striking ``2018'' and 
     inserting ``2023''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Georgia (Mrs. Handel) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. HANDEL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on S. 1766, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. HANDEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  S. 1766, the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act of 2017, 
also known as the SAFER Act, will strengthen State and local law 
enforcement's ability to reduce the number of untested rape kits and 
help take more offenders off our streets.
  Congress provides significant resources annually to the Department of 
Justice to help reduce backlogs of untested forensic evidence. This 
legislation will reauthorize the Attorney General's authority to 
allocate 5 to 7 percent of funds made available to carry out the Debbie 
Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program to help communities audit their 
backlogs, which is an important first step in any effort to eliminate a 
backlog.
  Despite the cases analyzed and improvements made with our Federal 
resources, backlogs persist due to the ever-increasing demand for 
evidence testing. According to the National Institute of Justice, as 
the value of DNA evidence is increasingly recognized, more evidence 
gets collected and submitted to laboratories for analysis.
  Delays in analysis of forensic evidence often result in delays of 
justice: serial offenders can continue victimizing, and innocent 
individuals may be incarcerated. The SAFER Act helps address this 
common impediment to the response to rape and sexual assault at the 
State, local, and Tribal levels.
  Importantly, the SAFER Act also would clarify that pediatric forensic 
nurses are eligible for training and employment grants. This provision 
underscores the critical role that pediatric sexual assault nurse 
examiners can play in a community's response to children who are 
victims of abuse.
  S. 1766 can help ensure that resources provided for DNA analysis are 
focused on grant recipients making a good faith effort to estimate and 
manage their backlog of untested samples and improve efforts to get sex 
offenders off of our streets.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important measure, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1766, the Sexual Assault 
Forensic Evidence Reporting Act of 2017. This bipartisan legislation 
passed the Senate on October 23, 2017.
  I am glad that this House is moving this legislation, because it is 
about children. It is about the scourge that children, women, and 
others find themselves victims of--sexual assault.
  S. 1766 will reauthorize the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 
2000 through the year 2022, by amending the language in section 2(c)(4) 
of 34 U.S.C. 40701(c)(4).
  Furthermore, this legislation also amends other sections of the DNA 
Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 by ensuring that role of forensic 
nurses pertains to both adult and pediatric care.
  The SAFER Act also amends this statute by making a provision after 
``elder abuse'' for the need of nurse examiners, particularly where 
there is the need for pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners, 
including such nurse examiners working in the multidisciplinary 
setting, in responding to abuse of both children and adolescents.
  Finally, this legislation will sunset through 2023 by amending the 
SAFER Act. The SAFER Act is a critical program, administered by the 
U.S. Department of Justice, that allows:
  Local law enforcement programs to obtain funding for programs to 
reduce the rape kit backlog in communities across the country;
  Victims of sexual assault get justice more quickly than in the past;
  Thirty-five percent of funds available under the Debbie Smith Act for 
grants to local law enforcement agencies to focus more resources on 
rape kit testing;
  Five to seven percent of the Debbie Smith Act funding to be used by 
local jurisdictions to conduct 1-year audits of untested sexual assault 
evidence to identify serious areas of backlog; and

[[Page H10363]]

  Forensic testing to be done by both pediatric and adult sexual 
assault nurse examiners.
  This is a very important measure that will address the large volume 
of cases that fester due to the excessive backlog in our processing of 
rape kits.
  According to the National Institute of Justice, a multidisciplinary, 
victim-centered approach and standardized, efficient evidence 
processing in sexual assault cases are the focus of its new report.
  The report, ``National Best Practices for Sexual Assault Kits,'' 
outlines 35 suggestions for laboratories and law enforcement to improve 
their sexual assault investigations, tackling issues such as evidence 
collection, storage, and maintenance; backlog tracking and processing; 
victim advocacy and notification; and sensitivity to trauma in sexual 
assault victims.
  A working group--consisting of victims and victim advocates, sexual 
assault nurse examiners and medical examiners, forensic laboratories, 
law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and members of the judiciary--
developed the suggestions over a 2-year period following the Sexual 
Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act of 2013, the SAFER Act, a 
component of the Violence Against Women Act. We will soon reauthorize 
the Violence Against Women Act, and we will be happy to have this 
expansion included in this.
  A victim-centered approach is the focus on the needs and the concerns 
of a victim to ensure the passionate and sensitive delivery of services 
in a nonjudgmental manner. A trauma-informed approach considers the 
impact of trauma and victim safety considerations.

  Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Texas, Congressman Poe, and my 
colleague from New York, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, have worked 
on a number of these issues, and also Senator Cornyn, because this is a 
very important step. I remember the days, in our respective 
jurisdictions, that we had a mounting backlog of rape kits. Do you know 
what that means, Mr. Speaker? Women and children do not get either 
their day in court or do not get justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that this is a timely and very important 
legislative initiative.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. HANDEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe), my colleague.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, one of the worst things that can 
happen to any of us is to lose their voice, and I have lost mine. I 
know some of the Democrats are glad about that.
  But I want to say this on behalf of the SAFER Act. There are, in our 
country, on shelves, in warehouses, and in law enforcement office 
buildings rape kits that have never been examined. That is shameful. 
And everybody is to blame, from the Federal Government to local 
government.
  It is shameful because victims--and I knew a lot of them at the 
courthouse as a judge--don't know who committed this crime against 
them, and we have the ability to tell them, but we don't because of 
bureaucratic incompetence. These haven't been examined. They have the 
right to know who sexually assaulted them.
  Also, there are criminals running loose, who have never been 
prosecuted, because these rape kits have never been analyzed. And, yes, 
there are people incarcerated who are innocent, and the rape kit can 
prove their innocence. It is important that we pass the SAFER Act. Get 
those sexual assault kits analyzed. There are no more excuses.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1984, Michelle was raped at knifepoint by two men who 
broke into her home.
  They blindfolded her, tied her up with a phone cord, and gagged tit 
her before sexually assaulting her.
  During the assault, they laughed and bragged that they had been 
getting away with committing this crime for seven years.
  Much to Michelle's surprise, they left without ending her life. But 
hers would now be a life filled with suffering and fear. Michelle 
called the police and had a rape kit taken.
  She hoped that by achieving justice against her attackers she would 
find some measure of peace and closure.
  Michelle waited for the results, but she waited in vain.
  The backlog of untested kits was too large, so her kit was never 
tested.
  Over the next years, while her rape kit sat collecting dust on a 
shelf, break-ins and rapes continued to happen in her neighborhood.
  She was in constant fear that her attackers were still on the loose.
  Not only does the inability to test rape kits deny victims justice, 
it also puts the safety of other innocent people in jeopardy by keeping 
criminals on the streets.
  To address this issue, Congresswoman Maloney and I introduced the 
Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act or SAFER Act, which was 
signed into law in 2013.
  This bill provides funds to states and localities to increase rape 
kit testing and expand forensic lab capacities.
  In the years since SAFER's enactment there has been progress, but 
there are still hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits across the 
nation.
  SAFER was slated to expire at the end of this year, but thankfully, 
with bipartisan support, Congress has secured its re-authorization and 
continued existence.
  This legislation will continue to reduce the national rape kit 
backlog and help victims achieve justice.
  I want to thank Senator Cornyn who has worked with me on SAFER for 
many years.
  And I want to thank the Chairman for bringing this bill to the floor. 
I applaud its passage here today.
  And that is just the way it is.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, to my good friend from Texas, I am just a measure above 
your lost voice. I am suffering from somewhat of the same thing, but I 
have a little bit of a voice, so I can say thank you, again, for your 
very hard work on this legislation as a former judge in Harris County 
on the criminal bench. I know you saw injustices because rape kits had 
not been processed.
  I believe, as the chair and co-chair of the Congressional Children's 
Caucus and the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, 
Homeland Security, and Investigations, that we went through this as 
well. I was very pleased that the Justice Department understood the 
importance of grants to help our local law enforcement, but, more 
importantly, that the Judiciary Committee understood the importance of 
this legislation to really move forward to process kits.
  Can you imagine, Mr. Speaker, children having a backlog of kits that 
have been subjected to sexual assault--the most dastardly act and 
violence--not only against adults, but against children, like 3-month-
olds, or toddlers, by sick people who sexually assault them.
  So the development and implementation of policies and procedures by 
the National Institutes of Health leads to more timely submission of 
evidence to forensic laboratories, enhances communications and 
investigative procedures, promotes better informed prosecutorial 
decisionmaking, and, as my friend said, it helps the accused and the 
accuser. These approaches are the most important because they get 
victim participation.
  Victims of sexual assault require justice that is swift, thorough, 
and expedient so they may begin to heal and attempt to put the pieces 
of their lives back together. They deserve the best efforts of law 
enforcement to help them along the way.
  When Houston was trying to rebuild its rape testing structure, we 
utilized the FBI. And I want to take a moment to thank the FBI for its 
deep abiding integrity and honesty and how it comes to the rescue of so 
many jurisdictions, local law enforcement. Let us be very clear on how 
important it is to maintain the integrity and the respect for the FBI, 
as opposed to demeaning the FBI. Today, on the floor of the House, I 
want to thank them for their service.
  So this legislation would reauthorize the SAFER Act, provide funding 
to conduct 1-year audits of untested sexual assault evidence, and 
ensure that law enforcement agencies across the country are trained and 
armed with the skills and tools they require to stand against sexual 
assault and stand for those individuals who might be victimized.
  The SAFER Act would also ensure that forensic nurses are eligible for 
training under the program. These professionals are indispensable. Our 
citizens deserve to be protected and remain free from harm. Our 
children, women, and men, who are sexually assaulted, deserve to be 
protected, but their cases must move expeditiously.

[[Page H10364]]

  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
important legislation, as we continue to stand for victims and against 
the viciousness of sexual crimes of any kind, protect them, and bring 
the perpetrators to justice. I ask for a ``yes'' vote for this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1766, the ``Sexual Assault 
Forensic Evidence Reporting'' or the (SAFER) Act of 2017.''
  This bipartisan legislation passed the Senate October 23, 2017.
  S. 1766 will reauthorize the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 
2000 through the year 2022, by amending the language in section 2(c)(4) 
of the (34 U.S.C. 40701(c)(4)).
  Furthermore, this legislation also amends Section 304(c)(2) of the 
DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 (34 U.S.C. 40723(c)(2)) by 
ensuring that role of forensic nurses pertains to both adult and 
pediatric care.
  The SAFER Act also amends this statute by making a provision after 
``elder abuse'' for the need of nurse examiners, particularly, where 
there is the need for pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners, 
including such nurse examiners working in the multidisciplinary 
setting, in responding to abuse of both children and adolescents''.
  Finally, this legislation will sunset through 2023 by amending 
Section 1006 of the SAFER Act of 2013 (34 U.S.C. 40701 note).
  The SAFER Act is a critical program administered by the U.S. 
Department of Justice that allows:
  Local law enforcement programs to obtain funding for programs to 
reduce the rape kit backlog in communities across the country.
  Victims of sexual assault get justice more quickly than in the past.
  35% of funds available under the Debbie Smith Act for grants to local 
law enforcement agencies to focus more resources on rape kit testing.
  5%-7% of the Debbie Smith Act funding to be used by local 
jurisdictions to conduct one-year audits of untested sexual assault 
evidence to identify serious areas of backlog.
  Forensic testing to be done by both pediatric and adult sexual 
assault nurse examiners.
  This is a very important measure that will address the large volume 
of cases that fester due to the excessive back log in our processing of 
rape kits.
  According to the National Institute of Justice, a multidisciplinary, 
victim-centered approach and standardized, efficient evidence 
processing in sexual assault cases are the focus of its new report.
  The report, National Best Practices for Sexual Assault Kits, outlines 
35 suggestions for laboratories and law enforcement to improve their 
sexual assault investigations, tackling issues such as evidence 
collection, storage and maintenance; backlog tracking & processing; 
victim advocacy and notification; and sensitivity to trauma in sexual 
assault victims.
  A working group--consisting of victims and victim advocates, sexual 
assault nurse examiners and medical examiners, forensic laboratories, 
law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and members of the judiciary--
developed the suggestions over a two-year period following the Sexual 
Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act of 2013, a component of 
the Violence Against Women Act.
  A victim centered approach is the focus on the needs and concerns of 
a victim to ensure the compassionate and sensitive delivery of services 
in a nonjudgmental manner. A trauma-informed approach considers the 
impact of trauma and victim safety considerations.
  Utilizing both approaches in the development and implementation of 
policies and procedures leads to more timely submission of evidence to 
forensic laboratories, enhances communications and investigative 
procedures, promotes better informed prosecutorial decision-making, and 
ultimately may reduce re-traumatization of victims by the criminal 
justice system.
  In fact, these approaches are more likely to increase victim 
participation and thereby, support more complete investigations, 
increasing the overall likelihood of successful prosecutions.''
  For these reasons, I support this bill.
  Victims of sexual assault require justice that is swift, thorough, 
and expedient, so that they may begin to heal and attempt to put the 
pieces of their lives back together. They deserve the best efforts of 
law enforcement to help them along the way.
  This legislation would reauthorize the SAFER Act, provide funding to 
conduct one-year audits of untested sexual assault evidence, and ensure 
that law enforcement agencies across the country are trained and armed 
with the skills and tools they require to stand against sexual assault, 
and stand for those individuals who might be victimized.
  The SAFER Act would also ensure that forensic nurses are eligible for 
training under the program. These professionals perform indispensable 
functions within the investigation of sexual abuse cases. They also 
provide specialized care and attention to children, youth, and the 
elderly, who are sexually abused. This legislation would help local 
authorities make certain that state and local forensic nurses are fully 
capable of providing such an important service to child victims.
  Our citizens deserve to be protected and remain free from harm. We 
have a responsibility to do all that we can during those unfortunate 
times where one of them might be victimized.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
important legislation as we continue to stand for victims and against 
sexual crimes of any kind.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. HANDEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, let me start by recognizing the tremendous leadership of 
my colleague, Representative Ted Poe from Texas. I thank him for giving 
me the honor of being his wing woman in presenting this important piece 
of legislation today.
  And, indeed, the SAFER Act is an important piece of legislation to 
reinforce the efforts of our local and State law enforcement in their 
work to reduce the number of untested rape kits and help take these 
sexual assault predators off the streets.
  At the same time, this legislation underscores the critical role that 
the pediatric sexual assault examiners play in this process and makes 
them eligible for key training.
  So, again, I ask my colleagues to pass this bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1445

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Handel) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1766.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. HANDEL. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________