Prepared Statement by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Former Chairman and Senior Member, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee

At an Executive Business Meeting

On the Debbie Smith Act

May 1, 2019

 

Eliminating the backlog of unanalyzed DNA evidence in rape cases has long been a top priority for me. Rape victims shouldn’t have to wait six years for justice, as in Debbie Smith’s case. That’s why the Debbie Smith Act is so important.              

Two years ago, I called on a government watchdog agency to assess the progress we’ve made in reducing backlogs of untested DNA evidence under this statute. Last year, as chairman of this Committee, I also convened an oversight hearing to review Congress’ billion dollar investment in the DNA backlog program.

The Government Accountability Office testified at this hearing that we still don’t know with certainty that our DNA backlog program has been successful. GAO noted that the statute makes it difficult to assess and verify grantees’ performance.

GAO unveiled their final report on this program some weeks ago. I’m offering an amendment to Senator Cornyn’s bill that responds directly to the issues GAO raised about the importance of measurable goals. I thank the bill sponsor for agreeing to accept my amendment.

My amendment also calls for reforms to prevent lobbying-related conflicts of interest. This second issue also was identified by GAO in its congressional testimony and report.

Some years ago, the Justice Department’s Inspector General also noted the appearance of conflicts of interest in programs administered by the National Institute of Justice. My amendment calls for the Justice Department to eliminate these conflicts.

I also want to thank Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America, who testified at my invitation at last year’s hearing, for suggesting important reforms. She, like me, wants to ensure rape victims remain the top priority under this program. Changes suggested by her organization have now been incorporated into this reauthorization bill, with my support.

The amendment I’m offering would not fix every issue with the DNA backlog program. For instance, it still concerns me that even today, we don’t know how many rape evidence kits have yet to be submitted to crime labs for analysis.

Still, I’m pleased by the reforms we’ve made. They go a long way toward resolving the issues I raised three years ago during our Committee’s consideration of the Justice for All Act Reauthorization.

So I’d like to conclude by commending the bill sponsors for agreeing to accept these reforms. And I’d now ask to be added as a cosponsor of the legislation.

I also want to thank Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein for agreeing to add our police officers’ bill to today’s agenda. I’m hopeful that this bipartisan bill can be reported out next week.

 

-30-