Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, Debbie Smith's courage to share her story with the world has changed the lives of millions, and the law bearing her name has helped countless victims of sexual assault see their attackers face the justice they deserve.

The importance of DNA evidence in criminal investigations and prosecutions is unquestionable. Since this program was first enacted, incredible progress has been made to reduce DNA backlogs. In my home State of Virginia, the FBI's National DNA Index contains more than 447,000 offender profiles and has aided in more than 11,000 criminal investigations.

This legislation will reauthorize this vital program and will continue to support State and local law enforcement agencies' efforts to reduce DNA backlogs and analyze DNA evidence collected from crimes.

As a former prosecutor, I know all too well how critical DNA evidence is to achieving justice for victims of sexual violence. I have been a strong advocate to reauthorize this program. I signed the discharge petition and spoke on this bill last month.

With passage of this bill today, we move a step closer to protecting people from violent sexual predators and allow justice to be served through our legal system.

It would have been better if we had taken up the Senate bill instead of pointing fingers and casting blame, but I hope that we will pass legislation quickly to get this grant money to the States and to those agencies that need it to make sure that justice is served.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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