John Cornyn: “it is my honor to come to the floor with the senior Senator from Vermont, my friend Mr. Leahy, to talk about bipartisan…”

“it is my honor to come to the floor with the senior Senator from Vermont, my friend Mr. Leahy, to talk about bipartisan legislation that will soon help victims of crime restore their lives. The Justice for All Reauthorization Act passed the House last week, and the Senate followed suit with unanimous support. Now it is on its way to the President's desk so it can become the law of the land. When I served as the attorney general of Texas a few years ago, I felt that one of my most important jobs was to protect crime victims. I know that all Members of the Senate feel the same way. The Justice for All Reauthorization Act is first and foremost a bill that will help victims. It includes a number of provisions to help them get the justice they deserve. It will improve victims' rights by increasing access to restitution, reauthorize programs that support them in court, and increase resources for forensic labs to reduce the rape kit backlog. I have spoken about the rape kit backlog before, and it is a big problem. At one point, it was estimated that there were as many as 400,000 untested rape kits in America, and this was due primarily to a lack of resources and lack of focus in making this a priority. This is evidence which has proven to be enormously powerful to help convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent. This legislation will also give law enforcement more resources to keep violent offenders off the street and fairly prosecute crimes.…”