[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 194 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9828-H9831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HELP FIND THE MISSING ACT

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 5230) to increase accessibility to the National Missing and 
Unidentified Persons System, to facilitate data sharing between such 
system and the National Crime Information Center database of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 5230

       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 ``Billy's Law'' or the ``Help Find 
     the Missing Act''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL MISSING AND 
                   UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS SYSTEM.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General, shall maintain the 
     ``National Missing and Unidentified Persons System'' or 
     ``NamUs'', consistent with the following:
       (1) The NamUs shall be a national information clearinghouse 
     and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed 
     person cases across the United States administered by the 
     National Institute of Justice and managed through an 
     agreement with an eligible entity.
       (2) The NamUs shall coordinate or provide--
       (A) online database technology which serves as a national 
     information clearinghouse to help expedite case associations 
     and resolutions;
       (B) various free-of-charge forensic services to aid in the 
     identification of missing persons and unidentified remains;
       (C) investigative support for criminal justice efforts to 
     help missing and unidentified person case resolutions;
       (D) technical assistance for family members of missing 
     persons;
       (E) assistance and training by coordinating State and local 
     service providers in order to support individuals and 
     families impacted by the loss or disappearance of a loved 
     one; and
       (F) training and outreach from NamUs subject matter 
     experts, including assistance with planning and facilitating 
     Missing Person Day events across the country.
       (b) Permissible Use of Funds.--
       (1) In general.--The permissible use of funds awarded under 
     this section for the implementation and maintenance of the 
     agreement created in subparagraph (a)(1) include the use of 
     funds--
       (A) to hire additional personnel to provide case support 
     and perform other core NamUs functions;
       (B) to develop new technologies to facilitate timely data 
     entry into the relevant data bases;
       (C) to conduct contracting activities relevant to core 
     NamUs services;
       (D) to provide forensic analyses to support the 
     identification of missing and unidentified persons, to 
     include, but not limited to DNA typing, forensic odontology, 
     fingerprint examination, and forensic anthropology;
       (E) to train State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 
     personnel and forensic medicine service providers to use 
     NamUs resources and best practices for the investigation of 
     missing and unidentified person cases;
       (F) to assist States in providing information to the NCIC 
     database, the NamUs database, or any future database system 
     for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases;
       (G) to report to law enforcement authorities in the 
     jurisdiction in which the remains were found information on 
     every deceased, unidentified person, regardless of age;
       (H) to participate in Missing Person Days and other events 
     to directly support family members of the missing with NamUs 
     case entries and DNA collections;
       (I) to provide assistance and training by coordinating 
     State and local service providers in order to support 
     individuals and families;
       (J) to conduct data analytics and research projects for the 
     purpose of enhancing knowledge, best practices, and training 
     related to missing and unidentified person cases, as well as 
     developing NamUs system enhancements;
       (K) to create and maintain a secure, online, nationwide 
     critical incident response tool for professionals that will 
     connect law enforcement, medico-legal and emergency 
     management professionals, as well as victims and families 
     during a critical incident; and
       (L) for other purposes consistent with the goals of this 
     section.
       (c) Amendments to the Crime Control Act of 1990 To Require 
     Reports of Missing Children to NamUs.--
       (1) Reporting requirement.--Section 3701(a) of the Crime 
     Control Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 41307(a)) is amended by 
     striking the period and inserting the following: ``and, 
     consistent with section 3 (including rules promulgated 
     pursuant to section 3(c)) of the Help Find the Missing Act, 
     shall also report such case, either directly or through 
     authorization described in such section to transmit, enter, 
     or share information on such case, to the NamUs databases.''.

[[Page H9829]]

       (2) State requirements.--Section 3702 of the Crime Control 
     Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 41308) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or the National Crime 
     Information Center computer database'' and inserting ``, the 
     National Crime Information Center computer database, or the 
     NamUs databases'';
       (B) in the matter following paragraph (3), by striking 
     ``and the National Crime Information Center computer 
     networks'' and inserting ``, the National Crime Information 
     Center computer networks, and the NamUs databases''; and
       (C) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     ``or the NamUs databases'' after ``National Crime Information 
     Center''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and National Crime 
     Information Center computer networks'' and inserting ``, 
     National Crime Information Center computer networks, and the 
     NamUs databases''.
       (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
     shall apply with respect to reports made before, on, or after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. INFORMATION SHARING.

       (a) Access to NCIC.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall, in 
     accordance with this section, provide access to the NCIC 
     Missing Person and Unidentified Person Files to the National 
     Institute of Justice or its designee administering the NamUs 
     program as a grantee or contractor, for the purpose of 
     reviewing missing and unidentified person records in NCIC for 
     case validation and NamUs data reconciliation.
       (b) Electronic Data Sharing.--Not later than 6 months after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
     shall, in accordance with this section, have completed an 
     assessment of the NCIC and NamUs system architectures and 
     governing statutes, policies, and procedures and provide a 
     proposed plan for the secure and automatic data transmission 
     of missing and unidentified person records that are reported 
     to and entered into the NCIC database, with the following 
     criteria, to be electronically transmitted to the NamUs 
     system.
       (1) Missing Person cases with an MNP (Missing Person) code 
     of CA (Child Abduction) or AA (Amber Alert) within 72 hours 
     of entry into NCIC;
       (2) Missing Person cases with an MNP code EME (Endangered) 
     or EMI (Involuntary) within 30 days of entry into NCIC;
       (3) All other Missing Person cases that have been active 
     (non-cancelled) in NCIC for 180 days;
       (4) Unidentified person cases that have been active (non-
     cancelled) in NCIC for 60 days;
       (5) Once case data are transmitted to NamUs, cases are 
     marked as such within NCIC, and any updates to such cases 
     will be transmitted to NamUs within 24 hours.
       (c) Rules on Confidentiality.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 
     with the Director of the FBI, shall promulgate rules pursuant 
     to notice and comment that specify the information the 
     Attorney General may allow NamUs to access from the NCIC 
     Missing Person and Unidentified Person files or be 
     transmitted from the NCIC database to the NamUs databases for 
     purposes of this Act. Such rules shall--
       (A) provide for the protection of confidential, private, 
     and law enforcement sensitive information contained in the 
     NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person files; and
       (B) specify the circumstances in which access to portions 
     of information in the Missing Person and Unidentified Person 
     files may be withheld from the NamUs databases.

     SEC. 4. REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Attorney General shall issue a report to 
     offices of forensic medicine service providers, and Federal, 
     State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies describing 
     the best practices for the collection, reporting, and 
     analysis of data and information on missing persons and 
     unidentified human remains. Such best practices shall--
       (1) provide an overview of the NCIC database and NamUs 
     databases;
       (2) describe how local law enforcement agencies, and 
     offices of forensic medicine service providers should access 
     and use the NCIC database and NamUs databases;
       (3) describe the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 
     NCIC database and NamUs databases; and
       (4) describe the standards and protocols for the 
     collection, reporting, and analysis of data and information 
     on missing persons and unidentified human remains.

     SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the 
     Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
     on the Judiciary of the Senate a report describing the status 
     of the NCIC database and NamUs databases.
       (b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     describe, to the extent available, information on the process 
     of information sharing between the NCIC database and NamUs 
     databases.

     SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Authorized agency.--The term ``authorized agency'' 
     means a Government agency with an originating agency 
     identification (ORI) number and that is a criminal justice 
     agency, as defined in section 20.3 of title 28, Code of 
     Federal Regulations.
       (2) FBI.--The term ``FBI'' means the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation.
       (3) Forensic medicine service provider.--The term 
     ``forensic medicine service provider'' means a State or unit 
     of local government forensic medicine service provider having 
     not fewer than 1 part-time or full-time employed forensic 
     pathologist, or forensic pathologist under contract, who 
     conducts medicolegal death investigations, including 
     examinations of human remains, and who provides reports or 
     opinion testimony with respect to such activity in courts of 
     law within the United States.
       (4) Forensic science service provider.--The term ``forensic 
     science service provider'' means a State or unit of local 
     government agency having not fewer than 1 full-time analyst 
     who examines physical evidence in criminal or investigative 
     matters and provides reports or opinion testimony with 
     respect to such evidence in courts in the United States.
       (5) Namus databases.--The term ``NamUs databases'' means 
     the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Missing 
     Persons database and National Missing and Unidentified 
     Persons System Unidentified Decedents database maintained by 
     the National Institute of Justice of the Department of 
     Justice, which serves as a clearinghouse and resource center 
     for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases.
       (6) NCIC database.--The term ``NCIC database'' means the 
     National Crime Information Center Missing Person File and 
     National Crime Information Center Unidentified Person File of 
     the National Crime Information Center database of the FBI, 
     established pursuant to section 534 of title 28, United 
     States Code.
       (7) Qualifying law enforcement agency defined.--The term 
     ``qualifying law enforcement agency'' means a State, local, 
     or Tribal law enforcement agency.
       (8) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
     United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material on S. 5230.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Every year in this country over 600,000 Americans go missing. While 
many of the missing are fortunate to be found alive and well, tens of 
thousands of individuals remain missing for more than 1 year, what many 
agencies consider to be cold cases.
  It is also estimated that 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered 
each year, with approximately 1,000 of those remaining unidentified, 
also becoming cold cases.
  The families of those who go missing are forced to endure crushing 
uncertainty, not knowing what happened to their loved ones or if they 
will ever return. But they also face systemic challenges in helping law 
enforcement locate the missing or match them to unidentified remains so 
that they can at least have some semblance of closure.
  The Help Find the Missing Act, or Billy's Law, is bipartisan 
legislation that will help address this crisis by closing loopholes in 
our Nation's missing person databases by streamlining the reporting 
process and ensuring that law enforcement databases are more 
comprehensive and accessible.
  The bill is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut, 
who went missing in 2004 at the age of 31, and whose family ran into 
countless obstacles as they attempted to help law enforcement in the 
search, including that Federal law does not mandate the reporting of 
missing adults or unidentified bodies.
  This problem is compounded by the fact that local law enforcement 
agencies, medical examiners, and coroners often lack the resources and 
training to report these cases to the appropriate national authorities. 
When cases of missing persons or unidentified remains are reported, the 
number of separate and uncoordinated Federal,

[[Page H9830]]

State, and local databases makes it extremely difficult to find the 
missing or match them with recovered remains.
  Billy's Law will address these challenges by authorizing and ensuring 
funding for the Department of Justice to continue to maintain the 
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, which is 
the national clearinghouse and resource center for missing, 
unidentified, and unclaimed persons. It provides an online database 
that is accessible to law enforcement and the public, and to which the 
public can contribute.
  NamUs also provides free forensic services to aid in the 
identification of missing persons and unidentified remains; 
investigative support to law enforcement agencies; technical assistance 
to families of missing persons; and its subject matter experts train 
State and local service providers to support individuals and families 
impacted by the disappearance of a loved one.
  Critically, Billy's Law would require data sharing between NamUs and 
the FBI's National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, in order to 
create more comprehensive databases of missing persons and unidentified 
remains and streamline the reporting process for State, local, and 
Tribal law enforcement. It would also amend current law to require that 
missing children be reported to NamUs as well as to NCIC, and it would 
require the reporting of information on every unidentified deceased 
person, regardless of age.
  In addition, the bill would require the Attorney General to issue 
guidelines and best practices to law enforcement, medical examiners, 
and coroners on handling cases involving missing persons or 
unidentified remains.
  We must do everything possible to ensure that we have a comprehensive 
and coordinated missing persons reporting and investigation system that 
works so that we can provide resolution to the families of those whose 
loved ones disappear.
  I thank Senator Chris Murphy for his yearslong effort to pass Billy's 
Law, and I thank Representative Jahana Hayes for introducing the House 
companion bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. SPARTZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 5230, the Help Find the Missing Act, authorizes the 
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
  The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System was created by 
the Department of Justice 15 years ago to provide a missing persons and 
unidentified remains database that the public can contribute to and 
access.
  S. 5230 would connect the National Missing and Unidentified Persons 
System with the FBI's National Crime Information Center, which would 
create more comprehensive missing persons and unidentified remains 
databases. This would allow for a more streamlined reporting process 
for law enforcement.
  This bill would also require missing children be reported to the 
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Currently, missing 
children are only required to be reported to the National Crime 
Information Center.
  Finally, the bill would require the Department of Justice to issue 
guidelines and best practices on handling missing persons and 
unidentified remains cases for law enforcement, medical examiners, and 
coroners to find the missing.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Hayes), a sponsor of the bill.
  Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 5230, the Help Find 
the Missing Act, also known as Billy's Law. I thank Senator Murphy for 
his leadership on this bill, and I am honored to introduce it in 
the House.

  This bill is named for Billy Smolinski. Billy went missing from my 
hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut, on August 24, 2004, nearly 20 years 
ago.
  Unlike with missing children, Federal law does not require law 
enforcement to report missing adults or unidentified bodies. Without 
it, families are left to unravel the mystery of what happened to their 
loved ones without any support. The Smolinski family was left to 
navigate a complicated and disjointed system.
  In the absence of a vigorous and sustained effort to solve the crime, 
the family created a personal tip line, placed billboards on highways 
that I drove by every day for many years, and worked closely with a 
private investigator.
  When Bill and Janice Smolinski received tips, they would organize 
search parties, which worked with rescue teams and brought in highly 
trained cadaver dogs to sniff the woods in search of their son.
  Each year, nearly half a million people go missing, and sadly, many 
of them will never see their loved ones again. Yet, over 40,000 sets of 
unidentified human remains are either held at coroners' offices or 
disposed of after going unclaimed.
  Due to gaps in missing persons databases, missing persons and 
unidentified remains are rarely matched. Billy's Law will fix this 
critical gap by directing the Department of Justice to continually 
operate NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, 
and connect it to the FBI's National Crime Information Center. It will 
also provide guidelines for local law enforcement agencies, medical 
examiners, and coroners on how to best handle missing person cases.
  This bill has the support of the National Fraternal Order of Police 
and the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations, as well as both 
the Smolinski family and the family of Gabby Petito.
  This bill will also help to bring home the missing, many whose names 
never make headlines or who are never talked about in the media, and 
offer closure to the families of those who will never make it home.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan, 
commonsense legislation to deliver justice to countless families.
  Mrs. SPARTZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, the families and loved ones of those who 
have gone missing spend every day desperately searching for answers and 
for help. Billy's Law provides critical tools to help them find 
answers, coordinating our Nation's multiple missing persons databases, 
increasing reporting requirements, and providing training and resources 
to the myriad agencies that investigate these cases, while supporting 
the victims' families.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of 
this crucial bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 5230, the 
``Help Find the Missing Act,'' also known as ``Billy's Law.''
  This bipartisan legislation would fix the gaps in our Nation's 
databases of missing persons and unidentified remains, providing much-
needed closure to the thousands of families who have endured the trauma 
of losing someone they love.
  Each year more than 600,000 Americans are reported missing. While 
many are ultimately found, at least 22,000 Americans are currently 
missing, and the remains of over 14,000 individuals have been recovered 
but not identified.
  My own State of Texas has been hit particularly hard by the crisis of 
missing persons, as we have more than 2,200 open cases--second only to 
California--and three Texas cities rank among the top 10 cities with 
the highest number of missing persons.
  The pain that families experience when one of their loved one goes 
missing is unimaginable. It is not merely a loss; it is a loss 
accompanied by terror, uncertainty, and endless questions that are 
rarely answered. We can, and we must, do more to help find the missing; 
to save who we can; and to provide assistance to the families of those 
who we cannot find or save.
  Billy's Law would help us find more of our missing Americans by 
ensuring that the Department of Justice continues to maintain the 
National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System, or ``NamUs.''
  In addition to providing a database of missing persons, NamUs 
provides a variety of critical support services to law enforcement, 
medical examiners, and families of those who have gone missing.
  But not all missing persons and unidentified remains are required to 
be reported to NamUs. That is why Billy's Law is so critical.
  Rather than having a multitude of unconnected missing person 
databases that cannot communicate with each other, Billy's Law would 
link NamUs with the FBI's National

[[Page H9831]]

Criminal Information Center (NCIC) database, creating more complete, 
comprehensive databases and streamlining the reporting process.
  The bill would also require the Attorney General to issue guidelines 
and best practices to the agencies that handle cases involving missing 
persons or unidentified remains.
  Lastly, Billy's Law would expand current law to require that missing 
children be reported to NamUs, in addition to NCIC, and it will require 
the reporting of information on every unidentified deceased person, 
adults and children alike.
  My State of Texas passed similar legislation just last year, 
requiring law enforcement agencies and medical examiners to use NamUs 
to solve missing and unidentified persons cases.
  But while I am proud of the steps my State has taken, this is a 
national problem that demands a national solution. Billy's Law is that 
solution.
  As a testament to the value of this bipartisan legislation, it is 
supported by numerous law enforcement and forensic specialist 
organizations, including the National Association of Police 
Organizations, the Fraternal Order of Police, The American Academy of 
Forensic Sciences, and the National Association of Medical Examiners.
  I commend Senator Murphy for his years of dedication to Billy's Law 
and missing persons across the country, and I thank Representative 
Hayes for her work on this issue as well. I urge my colleagues to 
support this significant bipartisan legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 5230.
  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. PERRY. 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.

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