Debbie Smith Act of 2023

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1105, the Debbie Smith Act of 2023, would reauthorize landmark legislation first enacted 19 years ago, in 2004, which has been instrumental in addressing a backlog of untested rape kits sitting in evidence rooms and crime labs across the country. Nearly 20 years ago, when I helped lead efforts to help enact the original version of this legislation, I said: ``It is imperative that we eliminate the shameful backlog of untested rape kits.''

Despite our best efforts, the backlog still exists, and my thoughts remain the same. It is imperative that we eliminate the rape kit backlog; full stop.

For every rape kit that is yet to be tested, there is a victim of an unspeakable crime who has yet to see justice or find closure. In some cases, there is an individual languishing in prison who does not belong there. It is for these reasons that we must continue the crucial mission of this legislation and ensure justice for survivors and for the wrongfully convicted.

Over the past two decades, the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program has been vital in supporting the processing and analysis of rape kits, DNA evidence collection and analysis, and victim resources. Millions of dollars have been allocated to increase the capacity of forensic laboratories in countless jurisdictions, provide DNA training and education to thousands of law enforcement personnel, and provide support services to a multitude of victims. As a result of this legislation, thousands of cases have been solved, and countless survivors have finally received the justice they so rightfully deserve.

While we laud the numerous achievements made possible by this legislation, ultimately, we know that funding is vital to the success of this grant program. That is why I offered an amendment to similar legislation during the 107th Congress that would increase the authorization of funds to address the backlog to $150 million.

Although the Debbie Smith program was authorized to provide up to $151 million in grant funds during the following Congress, the full amount has never been appropriated, and it appears that the amounts appropriated are decreasing each year.

Failure to fully fund this program limits the capacity to address the backlog, which often numbers in the thousands and has worsened largely due to the pandemic. If we really want to solve this problem, we will appropriate $151 million, the full amount of the authorization, in this year's budget. Delays in testing undermine public safety, allowing dangerous criminals to evade apprehension and potentially commit additional crimes. It is my hope that the appropriators will fully fund this critical program going forward.

Reauthorizing the Debbie Smith program makes our communities safer. By investing in DNA testing and forensic technology, this legislation ensures law enforcement agencies are empowered to identify perpetrators more efficiently and to link them to other unsolved cases. These identifications and connections not only bring closure to victims and their families, but they also prevent future crimes by removing serial offenders from our streets. Above all, reauthorizing the Debbie Smith program sends a clear message to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes that we stand with them.

While Congress has recognized the urgency of addressing the backlog and disbursed millions of dollars in grant funds through the Debbie Smith program and other grant programs in response to this problem, we must be certain that these funds are put to good use. That is why H.R. 1105 would also reauthorize for 5 years the allocation of grants for State and local governments that receive funding under the Debbie Smith program to conduct an audit of sexual assault evidence that is in their possession and awaiting testing.

This particular provision promotes the collection of data to help us better understand the nature and extent of the backlog and why it persists, while providing grantees with the resources they need to perform the audit and comply with other conditions and requirements set forth in the statute without reducing the total funds available to carry out the primary purposes of the Debbie Smith program.

The Debbie Smith Act of 2023 is an important measure that ensures our continued support of State and local governments in reducing the nationwide backlog of untested rape kits, protecting victims, closing cases, preventing crime, exonerating the wrongfully accused and convicted, and holding perpetrators of crime accountable, while promoting the thoughtful allocation and use of Federal funds.

Again, I emphasize that this will not work as well as it should. We will not protect as many victims as we should; we will not exonerate as many wrongfully convicted people as we should if we don't fully fund the program and if we don't convince the appropriators to appropriate the $151 million authorized in this bill.

I thank Representative Ann Wagner for introducing this legislation along with Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee, Steve Cohen, Wesley Hunt, and Ben Cline. I encourage my colleagues to join me and a broad, bipartisan coalition of cosponsors in support of H.R. 1105.

Mr. Speaker, the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program has proven to be a bipartisan beacon of hope, shining a light on justice sometimes long denied. This legislation would reauthorize this crucial program and other safeguards and emphasize our commitment not only to public safety but also to survivor support and crime prevention. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source