[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 151 (Thursday, September 19, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5588-S5589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Debbie Smith Act

  Finally, Mr. President, 4 months ago, the Senate passed a bipartisan 
bill that I introduced with the Senator from California, Mrs. 
Feinstein, to reauthorize what has arguably been the single greatest 
driver behind our progress to reduce the rape kit backlog.
  The Debbie Smith Act was first passed in 2004 to provide State and 
local crime labs with the resources they need to end the backlog of 
unsolved crimes. At one point, we learned there were perhaps as many as 
400,000 forensic kits, or rape kits, sitting either in evidence lockers 
or in labs that had been untested--400,000. In each one of those kits 
is the evidence needed to identify the assailant in a sexual assault 
or, conversely, to rule out somebody in a sexual assault.
  Also, as a result of uploading of this information, if it is tested, 
into the FBI system, or the CODIS system, it can help to solve a myriad 
of crimes, not just sexual assault cases.
  The Debbie Smith Act is one of those rare cases where there has 
always been bipartisan and bicameral support. More than $1 billion has 
been provided to forensic labs because of this law, enabling them to 
get untested evidence off the shelf so we can provide victims with 
answers and we can take these assailants, which, characteristically, 
don't just do it one time--they do it multiple times until they are 
ultimately caught--off the street.
  As I said, while the primary goal of the legislation was to reduce 
the rape kit backlog, under the Debbie Smith Act, this has provided an 
abundance of DNA evidence that has been used to solve other numerous 
crimes. That is because once the evidence is tested, it is uploaded in 
the FBI's DNA database, called CODIS. Similar to the fingerprint 
databases, this DNA database can help to identify and convict people 
who commit any type of crime that is under investigation.
  For example, if a criminal commits a burglary in one State, DNA from 
that burglary case can later be used to connect this criminal to an 
unsolved rape case in other States. It is that powerful.
  According to the National Institute of Justice, 42 percent of the 
hits in the FBI's DNA database system are the direct result of Debbie 
Smith Act funding--42 percent.
  Last month, I visited a living community in Grapevine, TX, called The 
Gatehouse. This is a place where women and children who have been 
victimized by domestic violence find the care and resources they need 
to restart their lives. I spoke with survivors of sexual assault, 
advocates, and law enforcement about the impact of the Debbie Smith Act 
and the need to reauthorize this critical program before it expires at 
the end of the month.
  Here is the thing that completely confounds me. The Debbie Smith Act 
is not partisan. It is not even controversial. It is not divisive. The 
last time we voted on it, not a single Senator voted no. So there is no 
reason for the House to stall on this critical legislation. If the 
House doesn't act by the end of the month, it will expire.
  Once again, I urge Speaker Pelosi to allow this bill to go to the 
floor of the House without further delay. It would be simply shameful 
to allow this program to expire, especially when she has a bipartisan 
bill in her hand and all she has to do is allow it to go to the floor 
of the House for a vote.
  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.

[[Page S5589]]

  

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.