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S. 1339Senate117th Congress (2021-2023)In Committee

Fairness for Rape Kit Backlog Survivors Act of 2021

Sponsored by Catherine Cortez MastoSen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Introduced April 22, 2021

AI-Generated Summary

Updated February 8, 2026 at 2:06 AM UTC

The Fairness for Rape Kit Backlog Survivors Act of 2021 amends the Victims of Crime Act to prevent victims of sexual assault from losing compensation because of delays in processing rape kits. It requires a program, within three years of enactment, to waive any filing‑deadline requirements for eligible victims whose applications were delayed due to testing or DNA‑matching backlogs. The waiver is granted automatically, without needing an appeals process, and applies to victims seeking compensation under the Act.

Key Provisions

  • Creates a new provision that allows a waiver of filing deadlines for crime‑victim compensation applications if the delay was caused by testing or DNA‑profile matching delays of a sexual assault forensic examination kit.
  • The waiver is available to any eligible victim and does not require the victim to go through an appeals process to obtain it.
  • The program must implement this waiver provision no later than three years after the law’s enactment.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

April 22, 2021

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

April 22, 2021

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

April 22, 2021

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued April 22, 2021

II

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1339

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 22, 2021

Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Toomey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to ensure crime victims are not denied compensation because of rape kit backlogs, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Fairness for Rape Kit Backlog Survivors Act of 2021.

2.

Crime victim compensation

Section 1403(b) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20102(b)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (8), by striking and at the end;

(2)

by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and

(3)

by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:

(9)

beginning not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this paragraph, such program—

(A)

provides a waiver for any application filing deadline imposed by the program for a crime victim if—

(i)

the crime victim is otherwise eligible for compensation; and

(ii)

the delay in filing the application was a result of a delay in the testing of, or a delay in the DNA profile matching from, a sexual assault forensic examination kit or biological material collected as evidence related to a sexual offense; and

(B)

does not require the crime victim to undergo an appeals process to have the application of the crime victim considered for a filing deadline waiver under subparagraph (A); and

.