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“INTRODUCTION OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE REGISTRY (SAFER) ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1555 on Aug. 10, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE REGISTRY (SAFER)
ACT
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HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY
of new york
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, today, I am proud to introduce this important bipartisan legislation, the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act, with my colleagues, Representatives Poe, Richardson, and Cohen.
I have been working on the issue of DNA technology since 2001 when I, along with former Representative Steve Horn, held a hearing in the Government Reform Committee where we heard from a courageous rape survivor, Debbie Smith. It was for Debbie, and the thousands of rape survivors like her, that I authored ``The Debbie Smith Act'' to provide federal funding to process the unconscionable backlog of DNA evidence. This legislation passed as part of the Justice for All Act of 2004, authorizing the necessary funding to start processing the backlog through the creation of the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program.
Since 2004, millions of dollars in funding have been appropriated under the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program. Efforts to eliminate the national backlog of rape evidence samples that have not been tested for DNA have been slowed or stymied by the lack of solid data on the extent and nature of the remaining backlog. While there is extensive evidence that we are making progress towards eliminating the backlog, policy makers lack a reliable estimate of the number of kits awaiting testing, or even how many kits remain at each stage of the process (in police custody, at labs awaiting processing, etc.).
This legislation addresses these issues by creating an incentive grant program to provide funding to cover the upfront costs of auditing state and local jurisdictions backlogs of DNA rape evidence samples. The bill would also direct the Justice Department to create the National Rape Kit Registry, a simple database that will track the status of every rape evidence kit waiting to be processed.
As Congress considers legislation to amend the Debbie Smith Act or make other changes to DNA testing policy, it is crucial that we first gather reliable, comprehensive backlog data. DNA evidence does not forget and it cannot be intimidated. By processing this evidence, we can prevent rapists from attacking more innocent victims and ensure that the survivors and their families receive justice.
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