Legislation Reauthorizing Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program Becomes Law

While we had been spending much of our time following the progress of the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency (GREAT) Act through Congress last year to see if it would be signed into law (it was on Dec. 30, as Pub. L. 116-103), another bill affecting grants also was taking its own path into becoming law.

President Trump, also on Dec. 30, signed H.R. 777, the Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2019, into law, which is now Pub. L. 116-104. The new law reauthorizes grants that support state and local efforts to process DNA evidence in sexual assault kits. It reauthorizes through federal fiscal year 2024 grants under the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant program; grants to provide DNA training and education for law enforcement personnel, correctional personnel and court officers; and grants under the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Program. 

The act was initially introduced in 2004. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Mike Crapo (R-Ida.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) were the original cosponsors. The House passed the bill to reauthorize these grants in January 2019, and the Senate did likewise on Dec. 17, 2019, prior to the president signing the bill into law.

“This landmark legislation has provided more than a decade of support for survivors, serving as a critical tool in the fight to end backlogs of untested kits in cities across America,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). “Since 2011, the Debbie Smith Act has helped reduce the backlog of unsubmitted rape kits in Texas by approximately 90 percent. The benefits of continuing the programs created under the Debbie Smith Act cannot be overstated, and I appreciate all of the advocates who have fought with us at every step of the way.”

We agree that these grants needed to be reauthorized and support the work of the legislators that made this a reality.

Join us for our following Federal Grants Forums:
Federal Grants Forum: Charleston, SC | February 5 – 7, 2020
Federal Grants Forum: Portland, OR | May 13 – 15, 2020
Federal Grants Forum: Chicago, IL | August 12 – 14, 2020
Federal Grants Forum: Denver, CO | October 7 – 9, 2020

Learn more at http://grants.thompson.com/conferences.aspx.