[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 1, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2541-S2542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Rape Kit Backlog

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, from time to time, our country has 
listened with empathy and heartbreak as survivors of various forms of 
sexual abuse come forward, men and women alike, who have bravely shared 
their stories, reviving a national conversation about sexual violence 
and inviting others to share their stories after years or even decades 
of silence. We know that these cases aren't limited to any class, 
place, age, gender, or circumstance. We have heard from major public 
figures and close friends alike, highlighting an issue that has for too 
long hidden in the shadows.
  Some of the most disturbing allegations are those that take place 
against our children in school. Last month, Senator Hassan and I 
introduced the Jenna Quinn Law, which would help educators and 
caregivers identify and prevent child sexual abuse. It literally 
teaches people how to recognize the symptoms, what children are saying, 
when they are not vocalizing their plight, by the way they act. It 
would allow the use of grant funds for specialized training to ensure 
that teachers and school personnel are prepared to recognize and report 
child sexual abuse.
  This legislation is named after a brave Texan, a child abuse survivor 
herself, and has been modeled after successful State legislation. It is 
an important step in our efforts to stop sexual abuse, and I hope we 
can take these reforms, which have been adopted now by more than half 
the States, and make them nationwide.
  Of course, protecting students from sexual abuse doesn't end after 
high school, as we know. In recent years, our country has followed 
high-profile cases involving students even at our colleges and 
universities. We all remember 2011, when the now notorious Penn State 
football coach, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested and charged with 52 counts 
of sexual abuse of boys. What happened next was a combination of 
support for the survivors and disgust with those who knew about the 
allegations but did nothing. Employees, ranging from a graduate 
assistant to the university president himself, were aware of the 
allegations but remained silent.
  Then there is Larry Nassar, an employee at Michigan State University 
and a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor. He was accused of 
molesting hundreds of young athletes under his care, and more than 250 
women shared their testimony at his sentencing last year. Despite 
numerous complaints about Nassar's behavior, some dating back to the 
1990s, university officials kept quiet. Law enforcement was never 
informed, and his disgusting abuse was allowed to continue unreported 
for years.
  Sadly, these are not the only instances of university officials 
turning to avert their gaze from sexual misconduct. It has happened at 
other major universities across the country, including one in Texas. In 
each of these cases, university leaders did not take action against the 
abusers despite the fact that official title IX or external 
investigations had been conducted. Some of them said: ``We just simply 
didn't read the results of the report.''
  These stories of abuse are difficult to hear, but they have led to 
positive changes by highlighting the ineffective and sometimes 
nonexistent policies to handle these types of abuse.
  That is why last month, along with my colleagues from Michigan, 
Senator Peters and Stabenow, I introduced the Accountability of Leaders 
in Education to Report Title IX Investigations Act, or ALERT Act for 
short. The purpose of this legislation is to ensure greater 
accountability by requiring colleges and universities to submit an 
annual certification to the Secretary of Education, to include the 
following:
  First, it would affirm that the university president and the board 
members have reviewed all title IX and Clery Act sexual offense reports 
of an employee involving sexual misconduct. This would compel 
administrators to take this matter more seriously and thoroughly 
examine all the allegations.
  Secondly, it would require that the university certify that the 
president or board members had not interfered with or inappropriately 
tried to influence an ongoing investigation.
  In any educational institution, especially those that receive 
taxpayer funds, administrators should be held accountable for their 
actions and place the health and well-being of their students above all 
else.
  The public conversation regarding these abuses has encouraged more 
victims to confront their abusers and pursue justice.
  Throughout my career, dating back to my time as Texas attorney 
general, it has been my privilege to work with advocates for victims' 
rights and to help provide them with the resources they need in order 
to heal and recover. But what if we could do more to prevent people 
from becoming victims in the first place? What if we could improve 
accountability on college campuses related to reports of sexual assault 
perpetrated by their employees? Well, it seems to me the answer is 
obvious. While there is nothing we can do to turn back the hands of 
time and prevent these young men and women from being taken advantage 
of in the first place, we can take action to hold universities 
accountable for employee sexual misconduct that they already know about 
and stop abusers from continuing to harm students.
  I hope this bill can work its way quickly through the regular order 
through Congress, the House and the Senate, and make its way to the 
President's desk so we can begin to improve accountability on college 
campuses all across our country.
  While we continue our work to prevent sexual abuse in all its forms, 
there is more we need to do to support victims. Tomorrow, the Senate 
Judiciary Committee will vote on what I have no doubt will be a major 
bipartisan achievement for the 116th Congress.
  We see many pieces of legislation that divide Members of the Senate, 
and sadly those are often the ones that get the most attention. But the 
Debbie Smith Act is the type of bill we should be talking about and 
celebrating. The namesake of this legislation is an incredibly 
courageous woman whom I have had the pleasure of working with over the 
years.
  Debbie Smith is an ardent advocate for eliminating the rape kit 
backlog and expanding the DNA database to provide victims with answers 
and peace of mind. Sadly, her personal advocacy was borne from 
experience. In 1989, Debbie was home doing laundry when a stranger 
broke into her house. He blindfolded her, abducted her, and took her to 
a wooded area behind her home, where he robbed and repeatedly raped 
her. Debbie reported the crime to the police and went to the emergency 
room for a forensic exam, but because of the nationwide backlog, there 
were no immediate answers. Her rape kit was not even tested right away, 
as it should have been.
  Although exact numbers are difficult to estimate, experts believe 
that as many as 400,000 rape kits remain untested in the United States. 
We really don't know with any precision. Each one of them represents a 
story of a sexual assault victim and holds the key to identifying and 
apprehending a vile criminal. Like every other victim whose DNA 
evidence sat or still sits on a shelf, Debbie simply had to wait. In 
her case, it took 6\1/2\ years before she finally got the answers she 
had been looking for when a cold hit revealed the identity of her 
rapist.
  Debbie knows the fear and uncertainty that comes upon victims just by 
not knowing the answers to who did it and how we make sure justice is 
served. She made it her mission to eliminate the backlog. She has 
become a trusted voice for sexual assault victims all across this 
country and, of course, works the Halls of Congress on a bipartisan 
basis to make sure we don't lose sight of this important goal, which is 
to eliminate the rape kit backlog.
  The Debbie Smith Act was signed into law in 2004 and provides local 
and

[[Page S2542]]

State crime labs with resources they need to end the backlog of 
unsolved crimes. So far, more than $1 billion has been provided to 
forensic labs because of this law and has led to some pretty incredible 
results.
  One reason it is important that the Federal Government assumes part 
of this responsibility is because many jurisdictions--small police 
departments, rural counties--simply don't have the tax base, don't have 
the money, and don't have the expertise to be able to solve this 
problem of untested rape kits. Since 2005, thanks to Debbie Smith, more 
than 860,000 DNA cases have been processed because of the Debbie Smith 
Act, accounting for 43 percent of all forensic profiles in the FBI's 
DNA database.
  Though the primary goal is to reduce the rape kit backlog and 
identify their assailants, processing this DNA evidence can assist 
investigations for nonviolent crimes as well. Similar to criminal 
fingerprint databases, this DNA evidence can help convict people who 
commit other crimes.
  The Debbie Smith Act of 2019 will reauthorize this important funding 
that supports testing of these rape kits so we can eliminate the 
backlog and ensure it will not grow again in the future. This law also 
authorizes important training for law enforcement, correctional 
personnel, forensic nurses, and other professionals who assist victims 
of sexual assault.
  So I am grateful to Debbie for her courage and the courage of 
countless other survivors who have shared their stories publicly--it 
can't be easy--and who continue to advocate for reforms to eliminate 
the backlog. Two other inspiring survivors from Texas, Lavinia Masters 
and Carol Bart, have also been strong advocates in my State and at the 
Federal level. It has been my privilege to know them and work with them 
on this issue.
  This legislation is undoubtedly stronger because of the input of 
these and other brave survivors who are champions for victims all 
across the country. I admire these women who have given their voice to 
the voiceless and continue to fight for these reforms.
  I thank Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein of the Senate 
Judiciary Committee for quickly moving this important legislation 
through the committee, and I hope we will soon be able to vote for it 
on the Senate floor.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.