December 17, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 204 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S7083-S7084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                DEBBIE SMITH REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019

  Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I stand proudly before this body today in 
support of the passage of the Debbie Smith Act of 2019. Since its 
enactment in 2004, the Debbie Smith Act has been renewed twice with 
overwhelming bipartisan support. With the tireless work of Senator 
Cornyn and Senator Feinstein, we will renew this vital piece of 
legislation for a third time today.
  I want to thank Senator Cornyn very much for being such a diligent 
leader on behalf of this act.
  The Debbie Smith Act removes one of the most substantial and 
burdensome roadblocks to survivors of sexual violence achieving the 
justice they deserve. I have told many people about the time I 
volunteered when I was a young woman in Iowa State University. I 
volunteered for a crisis hotline and a woman's shelter. The type of 
work I was able to volunteer for at that time was responding with a 
beeper to crisis calls at the hospital for women who had been through a 
rape. That, in itself, is very difficult, but the follow-on work that 
has to be done can often be just as difficult if evidence is not 
processed timely.
  The Debbie Smith Act does this by providing funding for crime labs 
that process DNA evidence and by strengthening the national DNA 
database used to help solve these horrific crimes. In addition, this 
bipartisan bill supports audits of evidence awaiting analysis at law 
enforcement agencies and charges the Justice Department with the task 
of developing national testing guidelines.
  We all know the criminal justice system isn't designed to be fair to 
survivors of sexual violence, and it is not easy on them. It certainly 
is not a comfortable process.
  Coming forward as a survivor is not the end. It is just the 
beginning. That is why it is so important that this Congress, with 
Senator Cornyn's leadership, and our criminal justice system support 
survivors of sexual violence by funding the availability of DNA 
evidence to help bring these predators to justice.
  Again, I thank the Senator for his diligent work on this. The 
bipartisan Debbie Smith Act helps to bring us to the end that our 
survivors need and they deserve. Thank you for your leadership.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, let me thank the Senator from Iowa for her 
leadership on so many issues, including this one. Obviously, through 
her work on the Judiciary Committee, where we both serve and from where 
this important piece of legislation emanated, this has been a long 
journey. Unfortunately, the politics of the day seem to have slowed 
almost everything up that we are trying to do.
  In particular, I also want to recognize the good work of the Senator 
from Iowa on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. I 
am a proud cosponsor of the legislation she is leading on. My hope is 
that after the fever breaks, sometime after the first of the year--I 
keep hoping for that moment--we will get back to the nonpartisan 
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. In the meantime, I 
am happy to join the Senator on the floor and to talk about the 
importance of the Debbie Smith Act and to celebrate its imminent 
passage.
  Since 2004, the Debbie Smith Act has been the guiding force behind 
our Nation's effort to eliminate the rape kit backlog. Just so 
everybody understands, at one point there was a report that there were 
as many as 400,000 of these forensic kits, which are used to collect 
DNA evidence following sexual assault, sitting in evidence lockers and 
police stations or in labs and which remained untested.
  Once we are reminded of the importance of this evidence and how 
powerful it is to enable law enforcement officials to identify an 
attacker with almost complete precision and accuracy, the importance of 
making sure these kits were tested becomes all that more obvious.
  Since 2011, the Debbie Smith Act has helped Texas--my State alone--
reduce its backlog of unsubmitted rape kits by approximately 90 
percent.
  The benefits don't stop there, though. The primary goal of this 
program is to reduce the rape kit backlog and identify attackers--
people who commit sexual assaults.
  Processing this evidence can also assist investigations in other 
unrelated crimes because perpetrators do leave their DNA in other 
places other than just in the crime of sexual assault.
  Once this evidence is tested, it is uploaded into the FBI's DNA 
database called CODIS. This is similar to a criminal fingerprint 
database and can help identify and convict people who commit other 
crimes as well.
  For the civil libertarians among us--and I would like to consider 
myself one of them--this evidence is also very powerful in discounting 
or disqualifying potential perpetrators from suspicion because if, in 
fact, DNA of some other person is identified, it obviously is by 
exclusion of the other person who may be suspected but who will thereby 
be exonerated.
  According to the National Institute of Justice, 72 percent of the 
hits in the FBI database system are the direct result of Debbie Smith 
Act funding. The benefits of this law cannot be overstated, and it is 
time once again--past time, really--to reauthorize this critical 
program. The Debbie Smith Act of

[[Page S7084]]

2019 will reauthorize important funding that supports testing this DNA 
evidence so we can continue to reduce and eliminate the rape kit 
backlog and ensure that it will not grow again in the future.
  This legislation also supports important training for law 
enforcement, correctional personnel, forensic nurses, who are the ones 
who actually collect the DNA evidence using these forensic kits, as 
well as other professionals who assist victims of sexual assault.
  The process of getting this legislation through both Chambers of the 
Congress has not been easy. I have to say I appreciate all of the 
advocates who fought tirelessly with us every step of the way to bring 
us to this moment on the precipice of passing this reauthorization. I 
want to particularly recognize the folks at RAINN who are consistently 
remaining above the political fray and always putting survivors first.
  This legislation would not have been possible without its namesake, 
Debbie Smith, and the countless other survivors--people like Lavinia 
Masters, Carol Bart, and others--who continue to lend their voices to 
this fight. It is not easy for a woman to come forward and say: I was a 
victim of sexual assault, and I don't know who my attacker was, but I 
will go through this intrusive examination in order to assist law 
enforcement in making an identification and prosecuting the case. The 
fact is, if we don't catch these predators, they will commit further 
acts of sexual violence over and over again until they are finally 
caught and kept behind bars.
  If you have not had the chance to meet survivors and hear their 
stories, you must because the survivors I have met and worked with over 
the years in Texas are truly inspiring. I am glad we can finally get 
this bill passed on their behalf.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of H.R. 777, which was received from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 777) to reauthorize programs authorized under 
     the Debbie Smith Act of 2004.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 777) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I have further remarks, but I understand 
the leader is on his way here to file some important documents and help 
us progress with our work this week.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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