S. 820Senate116th Congress (2019-2021)Passed Senate

Debbie Smith Act of 2019

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 14, 2026 at 3:18 AM UTC

The Debbie Smith Act of 2019 updates the 2004 Debbie Smith Act to improve the federal DNA backlog reduction program. It directs the Department of Justice to prioritize DNA analysis of homicide and sexual‑assault cases, set clear performance goals, and increase reporting and oversight. The changes affect the National Institute of Justice, DOJ officials, forensic laboratories, and ultimately victims of violent crimes who rely on DNA evidence.

Key Provisions

Amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Grant program to prioritize, when possible, DNA samples from homicides and sexual assaults and to focus grant funding on reducing those backlogs.
Requires the NIJ Director to define, document, and measure program‑wide goals for DNA capacity and backlog reduction, using GAO‑recommended performance metrics.
Mandates the Attorney General to report to Congress within 180 days on actions taken to improve the grant program and to include reform recommendations.
Orders the GAO to issue detailed reports on DNA workload, backlog numbers, and program compliance every three years through FY 2025.
Extends the funding periods for training, education, and forensic exam grants under the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act from 2015‑2019 to 2019‑2024.

Legislative Activity

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9 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee

May 31, 2019

View full timeline

SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

March 14, 2019

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

March 14, 2019

SenateCommittee

Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.

Judiciary Committee

May 2, 2019

SenateCommittee

Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Graham with amendments. Without written report.

Judiciary Committee

May 9, 2019

SenateCalendars

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 80.

May 9, 2019

SenateFloor

Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S2946-2948; text: CR S2947-2948)

May 16, 2019

SenateFloor

Message on Senate action sent to the House.

May 20, 2019

HouseFloor

Received in the House.

May 20, 2019 • 2:03 PM

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

May 20, 2019

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee

May 31, 2019

Floor Debate

3 members

What members said about S. 820 on the floor

2 Republicans1 Democrat

Sen. John CornynR-TX · May 20, 2019

Mr. President, one of the favorite parts of my job is welcoming Texans to Washington to talk about issues that they care passionately about. Something I have noticed, though, is that it doesn't…

Mr. President, one of the favorite parts of my job is welcoming Texans to Washington to talk about issues that they care passionately about. Something I have noticed, though, is that it doesn't matter if they are here to talk about healthcare, taxes, infrastructure, or fever ticks. The same question always seems to come up. They say: Judging by what I see in the news, it looks like nothing ever gets done around here; is that true?

I always remind them that compromise and agreement is not exactly clickbait. So while some of the bills we are working on may not consume Twitter feeds, there is a lot of great work being done here on a daily basis.

One example of that great work came last Thursday when the Senate passed the Debbie Smith Act of 2019, a major bipartisan achievement that would support victims of sexual assault across the country.

I would be negligent if I didn't acknowledge the Presiding Officer's contribution to that great effort in the Senate Judiciary Committee, for which I am grateful.

The namesake of this bill is an incredibly brave woman whom I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the years, and I admire her tremendously. Debbie Smith is a fierce advocate for survivors of sexual assault and a champion for victims' rights, and she has become one of the most prominent voices in the fight to eliminate the rape kit backlog.

Sadly, Debbie's advocacy was born from a personal tragedy. In 1989, she was at home doing laundry when a stranger broke into her home. He blindfolded her, abducted her, and took her to a wooded area behind her home where he robbed and repeatedly raped her.

She reported the crime to the police and went to the emergency room for a forensic exam, but as days, months, and years passed, no answers came. She anxiously waited for her attacker to be identified and brought to justice, but it would end up being years before she saw that justice being done. Like millions of others across the country, Debbie's case became part of the long list of those frozen in time because of the debilitating rape kit backlog.

Though exact numbers are difficult to estimate, some experts estimate that hundreds of thousands of rape kits remain untested in the United States--a fact that should upset each and every one of us. Each of those untested rape kits represents a victim who is waiting for answers, who has to wonder each day who their attacker was, when will they show up again, and where are they now. Each piece of DNA evidence holds the key to apprehending a violent criminal and finally providing victims with some peace of mind.

For Debbie, it took 6\1/2\ years before the identity of her attacker was discovered. She has made it her mission in life to ensure that no other woman has to agonize for that long. The Debbie Smith Act was originally signed into law in 2004 to provide State and local crime labs the resources they need to end the backlog of these unsolved crimes. Because of Debbie Smith and the Debbie Smith Act, more than 860,000 DNA cases have been processed and 360,000 DNA profiles have been uploaded into the FBI's database. This accounts for 43 percent of all forensic profiles in the FBI's database.

While the original purpose for this legislation was to reduce the rape kit backlog, this DNA evidence can help to identify and to convict people who commit other types of crimes and to take more criminals off the street. By the way, we should note that if somebody has been falsely accused, this DNA evidence can exclude them as a potential perpetrator of a crime. It really works to benefit those falsely accused as well.

All in all, more than $1 billion has been provided to forensic labs because of this law. The legislation passed by the Senate last week will provide even greater resources for this vital program.

The Debbie Smith Act of 2019 will reauthorize the important funding that supports testing DNA evidence so we can eliminate the rape kit backlog in the future and someday ensure that it will not grow again.

This reauthorization also reauthorizes important training for law enforcement, correctional personnel, forensic nurses, and other professionals who assist victims of sexual assault. This bill is not controversial, not partisan, and not divisive. In fact, not a single Senator voted against it. It is exactly the type of legislation that should get more attention here in Washington.

I thank Senator Feinstein of California, who cosponsored this bill, for working with me to get it over this first hurdle. I now hope that the House of Representatives will take up the Debbie Smith Act so we can get the legislation to the President's desk to provide even more victims with answers and, hopefully, some peace of mind.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Sen. Mitch McConnellR-KY · May 16, 2019

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 80, S. 820. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments be agreed to, that…

Sen. Sherrod BrownD-OH · May 20, 2019

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Bill Text

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Referred in HouseIssued May 20, 2019

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 820

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 20, 2019

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

AN ACT

To strengthen programs authorized under the Debbie Smith Act of 2004.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Debbie Smith Act of 2019.

DNA Backlog Grant Program improvement

Section 2 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (34 U.S.C. 40701) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a)—

(A)

in paragraph (2), by striking including and inserting prioritizing, to the extent practicable consistent with public safety considerations; and

(B)

in paragraph (8), by striking including and inserting in particular,;

(2)

in subsection (b)—

(A)

in paragraph (6), by striking and at the end;

(B)

in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

(8)

provide assurances that the DNA section of the laboratory to be used to conduct DNA analyses has a written policy that prioritizes the analysis of, to the extent practicable consistent with public safety considerations, samples from homicides and sexual assaults.

;

(3)

in subsection (c)(3)—

(A)

in subparagraph (B), by striking 2014 through 2019 and inserting 2019 through 2024; and

(B)

in subparagraph (C), by striking 2014 through 2019 and inserting 2019 through 2024;

(4)

in subsection (g)—

(A)

by redesignating paragraph (1), (2), and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), and adjusting the margins accordingly;

(B)

by striking Not later and inserting the following:

(1)

In general

Not later

; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

(2)

Implementation of program improvements

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Debbie Smith Act of 2019—

(A)

the Director of the National Institute of Justice shall—

(i)

define DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction program-wide goals in clear, specific, and measurable terms;

(ii)

consistently document the goals defined under clause (i); and

(iii)

use performance measures for each goal defined under clause (i) that fully reflect the appropriate attributes of successful performance measures according to recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office in the report entitled, DNA Evidence: DOJ Should Improve Performance Measurement and Properly Design controls for Nationwide Grant Program (GAO–19–216); and

(B)

the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs shall fully establish all appropriate controls relating to conflicts of interest and to lobbying as reported by the Government Accountability Office in the report entitled, DNA Evidence: DOJ Should Improve Performance Measurement and Properly Design controls for Nationwide Grant Program (GAO–19–216).

(3)

Report on effectiveness of grant program

Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Comptroller General of the United States issues the 2018 report on the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program, or 180 days after the date of enactment of the Debbie Smith Act of 2019, whichever date is later, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that—

(A)

describes any action taken by the Department of Justice since the release of the 2018 report on the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program to improve the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program based on the recommendations of the Comptroller General; and

(B)

includes recommendations for reforms that could enhance the effectiveness of the program in reducing the backlog of unanalyzed DNA evidence in sexual assault cases.

(4)

GAO Report

Not later than 180 days after the end of the third fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the Debbie Smith Act of 2019, and once every 3 fiscal years thereafter through fiscal year 2025, the Comptroller General of the United States shall issue a report on the DNA analysis workloads at laboratories that participate in the Combined DNA Index System using data available from the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program or other sources that—

(A)

describes, by year—

(i)

the total number of new crime scene DNA analysis requests submitted to laboratories;

(ii)

the total number of crime scene DNA analysis requests analyzed including, to the extent practicable and reported separately—

(I)

the number analyzed at laboratories participating in Combined DNA Index System; and

(II)

the number of requests outsourced and analyzed at private laboratories;

(iii)

the total number of DNA profiles from crime scene evidence uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System;

(iv)

the total number of Combined DNA Index System hits and investigations aided resulting from DNA profiles recovered from crime scene evidence;

(v)

the number of outstanding crime scene DNA analysis requests at the end of each year and the number of such outstanding requests that are older than 30 days at the end of the year; and

(vi)

to the extent practicable, the number of requests associated with sexual assault cases submitted to laboratories during the year and the number of such requests that are older than 30 days at the end of the year; and

(B)

includes a determination as to—

(i)

whether the National Institute of Justice has defined DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction program-wide goals as required under paragraph (2)(A); and

(ii)

whether the Office of Justice Programs has fully established all appropriate controls relating to conflicts of interest and to lobbying as required under paragraph (2)(B).

; and

(5)

in subsection (j), by striking 2015 through 2019 and inserting 2019 through 2024.

Training and education

Section 303(b) of the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 (34 U.S.C. 40722(b)) is amended by striking 2015 through 2019 and inserting 2019 through 2024.

Sexual assault forensic exam grants

Section 304(d) of the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 (34 U.S.C. 40723(d)) is amended by striking 2015 through 2019 and inserting 2019 through 2024.

Passed the Senate May 16, 2019.

Julie E. Adams,

Secretary