Cornyn Introduces Bipartisan Amendment to Fight Nationwide Rape Kit Backlogs

Press Release

Today U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former Texas Attorney General, introduced the Justice for Victims Amendment to the Violence Against Women Act. The amendment, cosponsored by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Mark Kirk (R-IL), David Vitter (R-LA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), will help eliminate the massive backlog of untested rape kits, estimated to be about 400,000 nationwide; toughen sentencing for some of the worst sex offenders; and call on Backpage.com to remove part of its website that has been linked to child sex trafficking.

"For far too long untested rape kits have been piling up due to limited resources prescribed by antiquated laws, denying justice and compounding the pain for an untold number of victims in cities across Texas and the nation.

"This legislation will cut down on the unacceptable backlogs of rape kits sitting in crime labs nationwide, toughen sentencing for some of our most reprehensible criminals, and give new tools to law enforcement to track sex offenders who dodge registration."

Sen. Cornyn introduced the Justice for Victims Act as an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act on the Senate floor. The legislation has been endorsed by both national and Texas victims' rights groups.

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