[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 14625]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  JUSTICE FOR ALL REAUTHORIZATION BILL

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today the House will take up a piece of 
legislation known as the Justice for All Reauthorization Act, a bill 
that will help victims as they seek to restore their lives and will 
better equip law enforcement to fight some of the most heinous crimes 
imaginable. This legislation will help put more of the guilty behind 
bars and provide key resources to forensic labs across the country 
while aiming to end the rape kit backlog.
  The rape kit backlog in particular has been something that a 
wonderful woman named Debbie Smith has committed much of her life to, 
making sure we provide the resources to local forensic labs that test 
those rape kits because of the power of DNA and forensic testing. One 
can literally tell with almost certainty whether the evidence contained 
in a rape kit matches a DNA sample from a suspected sexual offender. 
Likewise, one can also exclude the suspect from being the one who 
provided that forensic DNA sample. In other words, you can exonerate as 
well as convict people as a result of testing from these rape kits.
  Being involved in this issue, we initially heard there were as many 
as 400,000 untested rape kits in America. Some of them had been tested 
20 years after the fact only to find that the sexual offender didn't 
just commit one act of violence or sexual assault but was a serial 
offender.
  There are stories of individual courage on the part of victims of 
sexual assault who have come forward to tell their story about the 
impact of this important elimination of the rape kit backlog. There are 
cities like Houston--Houston, under the leadership of Mayor Parker, 
basically said they are going to eliminate the rape kit backlog in 
Houston on their own, with perhaps some Federal assistance. They were 
able to identify a number of perpetrators in unsolved crimes because 
they were able to tell that the DNA in these rape kits matched certain 
hits on the FBI's CODIS list, where they maintain the data bank of DNA 
samples that are matched against those collected from suspects, 
collected in forensic examination.
  Suffice it to say that this legislation will contribute to ending 
that rape kit backlog, and I believe that is a good enough reason to 
support it. It will make sure that brave people like Debbie Smith, who 
years ago suffered a sexual assault and who has made this one of her 
causes in life--it will make sure that no woman would have to endure 
what she had to endure, and that is where law enforcement fails to use 
all the resources available to it to find her assailant and to bring 
them to justice.
  Most importantly, this legislation will also help strengthen victims' 
rights and help them pursue their justice in court.
  We already passed it once unanimously in the Senate back in June, and 
I am thankful to the leadership in the House for bringing this bill up 
in the waning days of the 114th Congress. I look forward to the House 
bringing up and passing this legislation today and to us taking it up 
here with any amendments that the House may offer and taking it up here 
I hope by unanimous consent and passing it before we leave for the 
holidays.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Ayotte). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 
up to 25 minutes in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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