Debbie Smith Act Reauthorization Passes Senate
WASHINGTON, DC – “The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2008” (H.R. 5057), legislation that would extend an important federal DNA backlog processing program through FY 2014, passed the Senate today by unanimous consent. The bill is named for a rape survivor who testified before Congress about the use of DNA evidence. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) introduced the bill, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) are original co-sponsors.
“Every unprocessed rape kit represents a victim who has been denied justice,” Maloney said. “DNA evidence puts rapists behind bars. I am proud that Congress is again taking action to address the unconscionable backlog of DNA evidence in crime labs around the country.”
“I want to thank the bill’s supporters in the Senate especially Senators Biden, Leahy, Kyl, and Specter for their assistance in getting this legislation through the Senate and back to the House before the 110th Congress adjourns,” said Rep. Maloney. “I will work with my colleagues to ensure that we get this bill to the president.”
Rep. Maloney authored the original “Debbie Smith Act” after rape survivor Debbie Smith testified before the House Government Reform Committee in June 2001 about using DNA evidence to solve rape cases. Debbie was raped near her home in 1989, and for six and a half years she lived in fear that her attacker would return to kill her. Debbie was finally able to live without fear when she learned that her rapist had been identified because of DNA evidence and was already in prison.
The original “Debbie Smith Act” was signed into law in 2004 as part of “The Justice for All Act,” comprehensive legislation that ensured that DNA evidence could be used to convict the guilty and free the innocent. Since then, millions of dollars of federal funding have been appropriated under the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program to process the thousands of unprocessed DNA evidence kits - including rape kits - across the country.
A bipartisan coalition of members of Congress, organizations, and crime victims like Debbie Smith worked together to pass the original “Debbie Smith Act.” The president signed the bill into law just as police in New York State made their first arrest, based on an indictment of a DNA sample (“John Doe”), of a suspect in a sexual assault case from 1996. The landmark law is set to expire at the end of FY 2009, but the reauthorization bill would extend the important program until 2014.
For more information on the Debbie Smith Act, click here.
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