A bipartisan bill led by U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) to reauthorize a federal DNA grant program that provides funding to law enforcement to analyze untested rape kits is on its way to being signed into law by the president.
“Victims of sexual violence deserve the full support of law enforcement as they fight for justice. The backlog of untested rape kits nationwide is an unconscionable failure that must be immediately addressed,” Rep. Wagner said. “I appreciate the Senate for unanimously passing my legislation and I hope the president quickly signs this bill into law.”
The U.S. Senate on July 11 approved the Debbie Smith Act, H.R. 1105, to reauthorize through fiscal year 2029 the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, which provides grants to state and local governments to improve and expand the collection and analysis of DNA evidence, including evidence in sexual assault kits.
The U.S. House of Representatives in November 2023 unanimously passed H.R. 1105, which Rep. Wagner sponsored in February 2023 with U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN).
“My Debbie Smith Act will provide essential funding so law enforcement can test rape kits and identify perpetrators so they can be put behind bars where they belong,” said Rep. Wagner.
Since the program was enacted in 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice says it has directly supported the analysis of over 1.6 million DNA cases, resulting in more than 328,000 hits in the federal DNA criminal database, and representing 47 percent of all DNA matches.
H.R. 1105 gained a total of 85 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.