07.18.02

DNA Sexual Assault Act of 2002 passes Judiciary Committee, Debbie Smith Act is included

WASHINGTON, DC - Senators Cantwell and Biden passed their DNA Sexual Assault Act of 2002 out of the Judiciary Committee today. This legislation combines the best features of Cantwell’s Debbie Smith Act with Biden’s bill. The main components of the bill remains grant funding of $275 million over five years for the processing of the nationwide backlog of rape kit samples, and $60 million for the establishment of sexual assault examination programs in underserved communities.

All the provisions of Cantwell’s original Debbie Smith bill are maintained: the DNA backlog grants are named for Debbie Smith, the bill requires that all rape kit samples be sent to labs for testing within six months going forward, and it establishes quality assurance standards for DNA evidence collection. In addition the bill contains additional privacy safeguards for DNA information.

Sen. Cantwell’s Statement (as prepared) follows:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to thank Senator Biden for his dedication to this issue. We had each introduced an earlier bill on this issue, and I believe that the bill we are marking up today represents the best of both of our bills. One of the things that I am most pleased about is that the grant program to fund DNA testing of existing rape kits throughout the country will bear the name of Debbie Smith. For those of you who did not have the opportunity to hear her testimony in Senator Biden’s subcommittee, she has become an extraordinary spokesperson on the power of DNA evidence to bring not just justice but peace to victims of sexual assault.

The heart of this bill is about getting DNA evidence from rape cases that is currently sitting in police evidence rooms tested and checked against the DNA profiles of convicted felons. We all know that DNA is a tool that works and as more states begin building their felon data bases, more and more cases of rape where police have no suspect are being solved.

We owe every woman in this country who has had the courage to come forward and undergo an invasive physical exam and evidence gathering after the trauma of a sexual assault, at a minimum, the absolute guarantee that the collected evidence is being checked against known felons. That is what this bill does.

The bill we are marking up today also includes provisions to provide grants to increase the number of sexual assault nurse examiner programs, creates national quality assurance protocols for DNA evidence collection, and requires that local jurisdictions do a better job of getting DNA evidence in rape cases to crime labs for testing in a timely fashion. These are the key elements of S. 2055 the Debbie Smith Act, and I look forward to working with Senator Biden to quickly pass our new combined bill.

Since I first introduced my bill, I have examined the issue of rape kit backlog in my home state of Washington in detail. I discovered that in the past five years at least 12,950 women in Washington state have submitted to humiliating and traumatic exams for the collection of evidence that has not been analyzed to help solve their rape. When applied on a national scale, these findings would indicate a national backlog of 615,000 cases of untested evidence.

We need to pass this bill and fund this bill to help police solve more rapes and give women receive the peace of mind of knowing that everything that can be done to catch their attacker is being done.