[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            NATIONAL DNA DAY

  (Mr. PEARCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, April is National Sexual Assault Awareness 
and Prevention Month. April 25 was National DNA Day. It commemorates 
the discovery of DNA's double helix and subsequent scientific 
advancements.
  DNA has revolutionized public safety in the criminal justice system. 
Since its inception in 1994, the national DNA database system has 
solved more than 200,000 previously unsolved crimes. It provides 
closure to victims of violent crimes. It assists prosecutors in taking 
violent offenders off the streets and has helped clear more than 300 
wrongfully convicted.
  Katie Sepich was a 22-year-old New Mexico State University graduate 
student. In August of 2003, she was brutally raped, strangled to death, 
burned, and abandoned at a dumpsite. Katie was a fighter with full DNA 
profiles under her nails. Through DNA, we were able to find her 
attacker.
  Katie's Law was signed into law last year, helping States with DNA 
collection. The discoveries and advancements of DNA have done wonders 
for our society. Closure has transformed our justice system.

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