Sheila Jackson Lee: “As a senior member of both the Judiciary Committee and a co-sponsor, I rise in strong support of H.R. 777, the ``Debbie…”

“As a senior member of both the Judiciary Committee and a co-sponsor, I rise in strong support of H.R. 777, the ``Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019,'' which reauthorizes the Debbie Smith Act and the Debbie Smith Backlog Grant program for an additional five years, through FY 2024. These grant programs to address DNA backlogs and provide DNA training and technical assistance on local, state, and federal levels. It is essential that these programs be reauthorized so that the backlog of unprocessed rape kits can be reduced and then eliminated, and perpetrators of sexual assault crimes can be prosecuted and convicted. There is an ever-present need to continue robust funding for programs such as the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program in order to make sure victims do not fall through the cracks of the system. Women who have been raped have a right to expect police to thoroughly investigate the case and prosecute the offenders; however, many rape kits across the country are never even tested, and the perpetrators never face justice. Under the Debbie Smith Act, not less than 40 percent of the total amount awarded in grants must be used for DNA analyses of samples from crime scenes, rape kits and other sexual assault evidence, and in cases that do not have an identified suspect. Madam Speaker, the number of backlogged DNA samples was in excess of 100,000 nationwide as recently as January 2014. H.R.…”