[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 84 (Monday, May 20, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 S. 820

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, one of the favorite parts of my job is 
welcoming Texans to Washington to talk about issues that they care 
passionately about. Something I have noticed, though, is that it 
doesn't matter if they are here to talk about healthcare, taxes, 
infrastructure, or fever ticks. The same question always seems to come 
up. They say: Judging by what I see in the news, it looks like nothing 
ever gets done around here; is that true?
  I always remind them that compromise and agreement is not exactly 
clickbait. So while some of the bills we are working on may not consume 
Twitter feeds, there is a lot of great work being done here on a daily 
basis.
  One example of that great work came last Thursday when the Senate 
passed the Debbie Smith Act of 2019, a major bipartisan achievement 
that would support victims of sexual assault across the country.
  I would be negligent if I didn't acknowledge the Presiding Officer's 
contribution to that great effort in the Senate Judiciary Committee, 
for which I am grateful.
  The namesake of this bill is an incredibly brave woman whom I have 
had the pleasure of getting to know over the years, and I admire her 
tremendously. Debbie Smith is a fierce advocate for survivors of sexual 
assault and a champion for victims' rights, and she has become one of 
the most prominent voices in the fight to eliminate the rape kit 
backlog.
  Sadly, Debbie's advocacy was born from a personal tragedy. In 1989, 
she was at home doing laundry when a stranger broke into her home. He 
blindfolded her, abducted her, and took her to a wooded area behind her 
home where he robbed and repeatedly raped her.
  She reported the crime to the police and went to the emergency room 
for a forensic exam, but as days, months, and years passed, no answers 
came. She anxiously waited for her attacker to be identified and 
brought to justice, but it would end up being years before she saw that 
justice being done. Like millions of others across the country, 
Debbie's case became part of the long list of those frozen in time 
because of the debilitating rape kit backlog.
  Though exact numbers are difficult to estimate, some experts estimate 
that hundreds of thousands of rape kits remain untested in the United 
States--a fact that should upset each and every one of us. Each of 
those untested rape kits represents a victim who is waiting for 
answers, who has to wonder each day who their attacker was, when will 
they show up again, and where are they now. Each piece of DNA evidence 
holds the key to apprehending a violent criminal and finally providing 
victims with some peace of mind.
  For Debbie, it took 6\1/2\ years before the identity of her attacker 
was discovered. She has made it her mission in life to ensure that no 
other woman has to agonize for that long. The Debbie Smith Act was 
originally signed into law in 2004 to provide State and local crime 
labs the resources they need to end the backlog of these unsolved 
crimes. Because of Debbie Smith and the Debbie Smith Act, more than 
860,000 DNA cases have been processed and 360,000 DNA profiles have 
been uploaded into the FBI's database. This accounts for 43 percent of 
all forensic profiles in the FBI's database.
  While the original purpose for this legislation was to reduce the 
rape kit backlog, this DNA evidence can help to identify and to convict 
people who commit other types of crimes and to take more criminals off 
the street. By the way, we should note that if somebody has been 
falsely accused, this DNA evidence can exclude them as a potential 
perpetrator of a crime. It really works to benefit those falsely 
accused as well.
  All in all, more than $1 billion has been provided to forensic labs 
because of this law. The legislation passed by the Senate last week 
will provide even greater resources for this vital program.
  The Debbie Smith Act of 2019 will reauthorize the important funding 
that supports testing DNA evidence so we can eliminate the rape kit 
backlog in the future and someday ensure that it will not grow again.
  This reauthorization also reauthorizes important training for law 
enforcement, correctional personnel, forensic nurses, and other 
professionals who assist victims of sexual assault. This bill is not 
controversial, not partisan, and not divisive. In fact, not a single 
Senator voted against it. It is exactly the type of legislation that 
should get more attention here in Washington.
  I thank Senator Feinstein of California, who cosponsored this bill, 
for working with me to get it over this first hurdle. I now hope that 
the House of Representatives will take up the Debbie Smith Act so we 
can get the legislation to the President's desk to provide even more 
victims with answers and, hopefully, some peace of mind.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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