Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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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 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.

777, which was received from the House.
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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.
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