Debbie Smith Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I have long maintained that rape victims shouldn't have to wait years for justice, and that is why I supported the original version of the Debbie Smith Act when the Senate Judiciary Committee originated it more than 15 years ago. I am delighted that we last week reached a compromise enabling Congress to send another 5-year reauthorization of the Debbie Smith Act to the President's desk this year.

Congress has generously funded the program authorized by this statute at roughly $100 million annually since its inception. Unfortunately, however, we have seen repeated media reports that a backlog of untested sexual assault evidence persists in many States, and the Justice Department, which administers this formula grant program, has not done enough to tackle persistent issues with the program's implementation.

These reports concerned me, and at a 2016 meeting of the Judiciary Committee, I began voicing questions about whether rape victims were truly the top priority under our DNA Capacity and Backlog Enhancement Program. I also questioned whether additional oversight was needed. I insisted at this time that transparency requirements be added to the Justice for All Act reauthorization prior to its passage by the full Senate. These changes, which I later offered as a floor amendment and which the Senate accepted by voice vote in 2016, ensure that the Justice Department collects and reports more data about how Federal grant funds are being spent.

In 2017, I also called on a government watchdog agency to assess the progress we have made in reducing backlogs of untested DNA evidence in sexual assault kits since the enactment of the Debbie Smith Act grant program. Last year, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I also convened an oversight hearing to review Congress' billion-dollar investment in the DNA backlog program, which makes Federal resources available each year for crime laboratories across the country to analyze untested DNA evidence collected from crime scenes and convicted offenders.

The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, testified at last year's congressional hearing that we still don't know with certainty that this program is working. GAO explained--and this year reconfirmed in the final report prepared by GAO at my request--that the Justice Department has yet to articulate measurable program-wide goals for the grant program authorized by the Debbie Smith Act, making it difficult to assess and verify State grantees' performance. GAO raised similar concerns in a 2013 report on this national program. GAO also suggested the need for the Justice Department to implement additional steps to prevent lobbying-related conflicts of interest.

This year, I developed additional proposed reforms in response to the issues that GAO and others raised. I want to thank Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America, who testified at my invitation at last year's Judiciary Committee hearing, for suggesting certain changes to ensure that the analysis of sexual assault evidence is accorded a higher priority by grantees. This statutory reform is essential, because most States impose a statutory deadline by which crimes of sexual violence must be prosecuted. Changes suggested by her organization, for which I have advocated since 2016, were incorporated into the Debbie Smith Act reauthorization bill by the Senate sponsor, Senator Cornyn, with my support. The House of Representatives also accepted these changes this year.

Additional reforms I proposed to the program this year, based on GAO's findings and suggestions, cleared the Judiciary Committee as an amendment to the Debbie Smith Act during our committee's consideration of the 2019 reauthorization. The full Senate later approved the reauthorization, including these reforms, by voice vote, but the House of Representatives declined to accept all of them. If enacted, the changes opposed by the House would require both that the Justice Department articulate measurable, program-wide goals and that the National Institute of Justice take additional steps to prevent lobbying-related conflicts of interest. They would not resolve every issue with the DNA backlog program, but I believe their enactment would substantially strengthen the program.

Because the House of Representatives dropped the GAO-backed reforms that the Senate approved by voice vote, I imposed a hold on the other Chamber's reauthorization measure this month. I then called on the Attorney General to implement my proposed reforms through administrative action. I thank the Attorney General for almost immediately agreeing to do so. Rather than indefinitely hold up the extension of the Debbie Smith Act, I lifted my hold on the bill last week, and I will continue to conduct oversight to ensure that these reforms are implemented as promised by the executive branch.

At this time, I want to thank Senator Cornyn for his efforts to advance the 2019 reauthorization, which I cosponsored, and for cosigning my December 2019 letter to the Attorney General.

I am hopeful that this bipartisan measure can be approved today by voice vote and sent to President Trumps' desk this week for signature.

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