Political Quotes

“by way of explanation, that final piece of legislation represents the passage of the Justice for All Reauthorization Act. This is legislation the Judiciary Committee has considered, as the Presiding Officer knows, which Senator Pat Leahy, the ranking member, and I have been working on for some time. It would improve victims' rights by increasing access to restitution and reauthorize programs that support crime victims in court, and it would increase resources for forensic labs to reduce the rape kit backlog. That last measure is something that has been a concern of mine for a number of years. Congress has appropriated a significant amount of money, under the Debbie Smith Act, to test forensic evidence in rape kits to identify the offenders in sexual assault cases. Unfortunately, over time, more and more of that money had been used for administrative and not testing purposes. If reports are to be believed, as many as 400,000 untested rape kits either sat in evidence lockers or in labs untested, thus denying those victims, whom those kits represent, resolution of their issues of closing the circle on their grief. We need to also make sure we have done everything we can in keeping our commitment to pursue the offender who has committed those sexual assaults.…”