[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 79 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3945-H3947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       JUSTICE SERVED ACT OF 2018

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4854) to amend the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 
2000 to provide additional resources to State and local prosecutors, 
and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4854

       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 ``Justice Served Act of 
     2018''.

     SEC. 2. PROSECUTION OF DNA COLD CASES.

       (a) Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program.--Section 2 of 
     the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (34 U.S.C. 
     40701) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(9) To increase the capacity of State and local 
     prosecution offices to address the backlog of violent crime 
     cases in which suspects have been identified through DNA 
     evidence.''; and
       (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Allocation of grant awards for prosecutors.--For each 
     fiscal year, not less than 5 percent, but not more than 7 
     percent, of the grant amounts distributed under paragraph (1) 
     shall, if sufficient applications to justify such amounts are 
     received by the Attorney General, be awarded for purposes 
     described in subsection (a)(9), provided that none of the 
     funds required to be distributed under this paragraph shall 
     decrease or otherwise limit the availability of funds 
     required to be awarded to States or units of local government 
     under paragraph (3).''.
       (b) Prosecution of Cold Cases.--Of the amounts made 
     available to the Attorney General for a DNA Analysis and 
     capacity enhancement program and for other local, State, and 
     Federal forensic activities for the purpose described in 
     section 2 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 
     (34 U.S.C. 40701) under the heading ``state and local law 
     enforcement assistance'' under the heading ``Office of 
     Justice Programs'' under the heading ``DEPARTMENT OF 
     JUSTICE'' in fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, not 
     less than 5 percent, but not more than 7 percent, of such 
     amounts shall be provided for grants for prosecutors to 
     increase the capacity of State and local prosecution offices 
     to address cold cases involving violent crime, where suspects 
     have been identified through DNA evidence.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson 
Lee) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4854, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4854, the Justice 
Served Act of 2018, introduced by the gentleman from Texas, Judge 
Carter.
  All of us in this body are familiar with Debbie Smith and the tragedy 
of her attack and the triumph of the law that bears her name. Many of 
us have had the pleasure of meeting Debbie and her husband, Rob, and 
hearing her story firsthand.
  The Debbie Smith Act was the Nation's first piece of legislation 
aimed at ending the DNA backlog that plagued our State crime labs.
  The Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program was created in 2004, and

[[Page H3946]]

since then it has enabled States to process more than 725,000 cases and 
upload more than 327,000 DNA profiles into the FBI's Combined DNA Index 
System, or CODIS. I had the honor to be the chief sponsor of the Debbie 
Smith Reauthorization Act of 2014.
  When Judge Carter reached out to me about this bill, I was 
encouraged, but I also wanted to know how Debbie Smith felt about it. I 
learned that not only did she support it, she and others helped craft 
it.
  When we reached out to Debbie and Rob to get their thoughts on the 
bill, they stated, ``getting hits doesn't mean as much if we cannot 
prosecute.'' I agree with Debbie and Judge Carter on this very 
important point.
  The bill in front of us today makes a very small but important change 
to the Debbie Smith Act. That small change will increase the capacity 
of prosecutors to address the backlog of violent crime cases involving 
suspects identified through DNA evidence. This bill will allow victims 
of crime and their families to receive justice by giving prosecutors 
the tools they need to investigate, solve, and close cold cases.
  That small, but vitally important, change is why the Justice Served 
Act of 2018 is endorsed by the National District Attorneys Association; 
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network; Debbie Smith; Major County 
Sheriffs of America; Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; 
Sergeants Benevolent Association; the Fraternal Order of Police; the 
National Association of Police Organizations; Consortium of Forensic 
Science Organizations; Joyful Heart Association; the National Alliance 
to End Sexual Violence; the Major Cities Chiefs; and the National 
Criminal Justice Association.
  We in this body should join these organizations in supporting this 
very important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Texas, Judge 
Carter, for introducing this legislation and all of his hard work in 
supporting it.
  To paraphrase Debbie and Rob, getting a hit is nice, but ensuring 
justice is served is better.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in supporting the Justice Served Act of 
2018.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me, from the beginning, acknowledge the ranking 
member for being on the floor on these important bills during this 
police and law enforcement week in commemoration. This week is one of 
the weeks that, over the years, all of us as Members have enjoyed the 
most, seeing a lot of our law enforcement representatives from our 
hometown jurisdiction and just seeing them from all over the Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4854, the Justice Served Act 
of 2018. I thank my colleague, Mr. Pascrell, my fellow Texan, Judge 
Carter, and other Members for bringing this forward.
  This legislation would help ensure that prosecutors have the 
resources to go after perpetrators of violent crimes, specifically 
those who have been identified by DNA evidence. I want to just say that 
again, Mr. Speaker, violent crimes, which leave in their wake either 
the bloody loss of life or some victim that is ruined for life because 
of the viciousness of the crime, some of them children, families, the 
elderly.
  This is a very important element of law enforcement, the fair 
investigation of crimes and bringing forward the perpetrator in a fair 
and just and constitutional manner. To do so, they need tools. Congress 
has appropriated over $100 million per year for the last decade to 
reduce the DNA backlogs and improve crime laboratory capacity.
  The Justice Served Act of 2018 does something unique. It capitalizes 
on these investments by allowing a portion of the Debbie Smith Grant 
Program to be allocated to prosecute perpetrators of violent crimes.
  Mr. Goodlatte is right. I remember meeting Ms. Smith and the tragedy 
that she faced, but also the way in which she wanted to commit to 
making life better for many others. I thanked her for that as she 
appeared before our committee in years past.
  According to FBI data, over 1 million people were victims of violent 
crimes nationwide in 2016. And in many of these cases, especially cases 
involving sexual violence, DNA evidence is a crucial component of 
prosecuting the perpetrators.
  The Judiciary Committee is about to begin its effort of reauthorizing 
the Violence Against Women Act, which my office has worked extensively 
with other Members who previously had great commitment to this 
legislation. We look forward to a bipartisan initiative.
  We know that in the elements of sex crimes and domestic violence, the 
DNA kits are extremely important, among other evidence that can be 
found. Prosecutors often, however, face large caseloads and lack 
the resources to properly ensure that violent crimes are adjudicated in 
a timely manner, even when a suspect has been identified through DNA 
evidence.

  H.R. 4854, the Justice Served Act of 2018, encourages a resolution of 
this problem by providing additional resources, none to take away from 
the important work of the purpose of the act, but to add these 
additional resources as are available through this legislation. 
Prosecutors need to investigate, solve, and close these cases. Give 
them those resources to do so.
  Remember, investigating, solving, and closing have the component of 
making sure that we do justice as well. This includes additional 
funding for the prosecution of cold cases where new forensic technology 
has identified a suspect.
  It is important to note that the need for additional funding is not 
the only problem that impacts prosecutors' ability to deal with 
perpetrators of violent crimes. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest 
National Network, RAINN, the overwhelming backlog of untested DNA 
evidence is currently one of the biggest obstacles to prosecuting 
perpetrators of sexual violence. Based on public reports, at least 
100,000 rape kits sit untested in evidence rooms, warehouses, and the 
like. These rape kits often contain DNA evidence collected through a 
sexual assault forensic exam, a medical process where evidence is 
collected from a victim's body or clothes.

                              {time}  1645

  This evidence is a crucial factor in achieving justice, and it is 
vital that prosecutors have this evidence.
  So this legislation, the Debbie Smith Act, was passed to alleviate my 
comments that I just previously made, and it has been enacted since 
2004, and it has made a great impact, but now we have the opportunity 
to use some of those resources to help move along some of these violent 
cases and to assist prosecutors, again, in the fair adjudication, the 
just adjudication, to bring justice to those who have suffered a 
violent criminal act, lost their life, and certainly enhanced the 
justice system.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4854, the ``Justice Served Act 
of 2018'' and thank my colleague, Mr. Pascrell and other Members for 
bringing this forward. This legislation would help ensure that 
prosecutors have the resources to go after perpetrators of violent 
crimes, specifically those who have been identified by DNA evidence.
  Congress has appropriated over $100 million per year for the last 
decade, to reduce the DNA backlogs and improve crime laboratory 
capacity. The ``Justice Served Act of 2018'' capitalizes on these 
investments by allowing a portion of the Debbie Smith grant program to 
be allocated to prosecute perpetrators of violent crimes.
  According to FBI data, over a million people were victims of violent 
crimes nationwide, in 2016. In many of these cases, especially cases 
involving sexual violence, DNA evidence is a crucial component of 
prosecuting the perpetrators.
  Prosecutors, however, often face large caseloads and lack the 
resources to properly ensure that violent crimes are adjudicated in a 
timely manner, even when a suspect has been identified through DNA 
evidence.
  H.R. 4854 the ``Justice Served Act of 2018'' encourages the 
resolution of this problem by providing additional resources 
prosecutors need to investigate, solve and close these cases. This 
includes additional funding for the prosecution of cold cases where new 
forensic technology has identified a suspect.
  It is important to note that the need for additional funding is not 
the only problem that impacts prosecutors' ability to hold perpetrators 
of violent crimes accountable. According to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest 
National Network, (RAINN), the overwhelming backlog of untested DNA 
evidence is currently one of the biggest obstacles to prosecuting 
perpetrators of sexual violence.

[[Page H3947]]

  Based on public reports, at least 100,000 rape kits have sat, 
untested, in evidence rooms, warehouses, and the like. These rape kits 
often contain DNA evidence collected through a sexual assault forensic 
exam, a medical process where evidence is collected from a victim's 
body or clothes. This evidence is a crucial factor in achieving justice 
and it is vital that prosecutors have this evidence.
  In order to address the backlog, Congress passed the ``Debbie Smith 
Act.'' The Debbie Smith Act provides crucial funding to support public 
crime laboratories' work to build capacity and process DNA evidence 
including evidence collected in rape kits.
  Since its enactment in 2004, the Debbie Smith Act has been renewed 
twice with overwhelming bipartisan support. This funding has 
significantly decreased the backlog of untested DNA evidence.
  The problem, however, continues to persist because of the 
overwhelming amount of evidence that needs to be analyzed. For example, 
in 2016, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science, in Houston, 
received over 3,000 cases to be reviewed. Despite receiving federal 
grants, this lab continues to face difficulties in analyzing all the 
evidence in a timely manner. We in Congress need to make sure that we 
are allocating enough resources to ensure that these labs are able to 
meet the demand.
  Victims of violent crimes, especially victims of sexual violence, 
have the right to have their cases resolved as quickly as possible. 
They need to be able to move on, knowing that they are safe from the 
person who hurt them.
  It is therefore important that Congress continue to support efforts 
to ensure that states and local government have the resources to test 
and analyze DNA evidence and that prosecutors have the resources to go 
after these suspects. For these reasons I support this bill, and I 
encourage my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), who has worked without ceasing on 
legislation that will help our law enforcement officers.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this 
bipartisan piece of legislation, the Justice Served Act, H.R. 4854. As 
the lead Democrat sponsor of this piece of legislation and co-chair of 
the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, I want to thank Judge Carter 
for authoring this bill.
  Currently, funding is available through the Debbie Smith Act to 
reduce the DNA rape kit backlog. However, these funds do not address 
the growing backlog in the prosecution pipeline.
  Unfortunately, this backlog is occurring because resources are 
limited and there are not enough funds to reopen every case, even when 
DNA analysis has identified a suspect. That is not acceptable.
  In my home State of New Jersey, we are well familiar with this issue. 
Due to a lack of resources and regulations, the extent of the untested 
rape kit backlog in New Jersey is unknown. That itself is unacceptable.
  Addressing the rape kit backlog would bring justice for the many rape 
victims across our State and many others; victims like a 15-year-old 
girl who was assaulted while working at a deli in New Jersey a few 
years ago, and whose assaulter was finally brought to justice in 2013 
using DNA evidence, but only after he assaulted another young woman.
  As a result, many of the rapists going undetected are repeat 
offenders. Countless assaults could be prevented and trauma spared if 
we caught these perpetrators the first time.
  And addressing the backlog can bring justice to the falsely accused 
as well. Last year, we learned the story of Rodney Roberts, a New 
Jersey man who was coerced by his own lawyer to plead guilty for the 
kidnapping and rape of a 17-year-old girl in 1996, despite professing 
his innocence.
  For 10 years, Roberts appealed to have his DNA tested against the 
original rape kit, but prosecutors claimed it was nowhere to be found.
  Eventually, the rape kit was located and the DNA evidence cleared him 
of all wrongdoing in 2014, after he served 10 years in jail.
  There are too many incidents in which an untested rape kit is lost, 
prosecutors do not have resources, and innocent people are harmed.
  To address this funding gap, the Justice Served Act authorizes the 
Debbie Smith Act to provide prosecutors with the resources and the 
funds to reopen, investigate, and close cold cases.
  Going forward, I look forward to working with Judge Carter to ensure 
that the Debbie Smith Act is properly funded so we can keep our promise 
to survivors of sexual assault.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the National District Attorneys 
Association, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, and Debbie 
Smith for their support for H.R. 4854.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the Justice Served Act.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pascrell for making that commitment that the 
resources under the Debbie Smith Act will still be viable and ready to 
be used for those sexual assault, sexual violence victims as this 
legislation was intended, but a provision in the bill allows the 
resources to also keep in line that nothing will undermine the 
investigation of sexual assault cases, sexual violence cases, but it 
allows the hand of justice to move on further for those who are the 
victims of violent crimes and to ensure that perpetrators of violent 
crimes are prosecuted as quickly as possible, again, under the equal 
and balanced hand of justice.
  So H.R. 4845, the Justice Served Act of 2018, provides funding to 
State and local prosecutors to help them tackle the backlog of violent 
crime cases, including cold cases, where suspects have been identified 
through DNA evidence.
  Certainly, there may be some overlap. I want to make it very clear to 
our victims of sex crimes, domestic violence, and other crimes dealing 
with those particular issues, that these dollars are enhanced dollars 
to be able to do the violent crimes.
  While it is important that State and local prosecutors have the 
resources they need, it is also important that Congress remain vigilant 
and continue to support efforts to clear the backlogs of untested and 
unanalyzed DNA evidence, including rape kits.
  The backlog in many jurisdictions is enormous. This was our intent, 
to move forward, to provide justice to those who have suffered, some 
have lost their life.
  So in the spirit of expanding justice to ensure that justice is for 
all, I rise to support this legislation in keeping with its initial 
purpose, to solve the backlog of DNA kits, and now to be able to assist 
in the solving and bringing to justice the perpetrators of violent 
crimes.
  Mr. Speaker, I again ask my colleagues to support the underlying 
legislation, I thank the sponsors of it, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, to paraphrase what Debbie and Rob Smith said, getting a 
hit is nice, but ensuring justice is served is even better. And it is, 
I think, a good amendment to the Debbie Smith Act that we allow these 
funds to be used for this purpose and close more of these cases that 
are solved by the DNA testing that was the original purpose of the 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, I thank Judge 
Carter for his fine work on it, 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. Goodlatte) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4854.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________