Congress passes McCaul’s bipartisan Homicide Victims’ Families Rights Act

The U.S. Senate on July 25 approved a bipartisan bill offered by U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) that would provide for a review system of cold case murder files upon request by a designated person. The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“I remain optimistic states will follow Congress’ lead and enact similar legislation on the state level,” Rep. McCaul said. “Hopefully, this will give families the answers, justice and closure they need. I urge President Biden to sign this into law as soon as possible.”

The Homicide Victims’ Families Rights Act of 2021, H.R. 3359, which Rep. McCaul cosponsored in May 2021 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), would require the head of an agency to review the case file regarding a cold case murder upon written application by one designated person to determine if a full reinvestigation would result in either the identification of probative investigative leads or a likely perpetrator, according to the text of the bill.

Under H.R. 3359, the review would include an analysis of what investigative steps or follow-up steps may have been missed in the initial investigation; an assessment of whether witnesses should be interviewed or re-interviewed; an examination of physical evidence to see if all appropriate forensic testing and analysis was performed in the first instance or if additional testing might produce information relevant to the investigation; and an update of the case file using the most current investigative standards as of the date of the review to the extent it would help develop probative leads, the text says.

“After 30 years, we still do not know who is responsible for murdering four teenage girls at a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas,” said Rep. McCaul. “By passing this legislation, we are providing not only hope, but resources to those who lost family members to federal murder cases in order to ensure cold cases do not stay that way.”

The U.S. House of Representatives on March 29 voted 406-20 to approve H.R. 3359 and sent it to the Senate, which passed the measure by unanimous consent.