Prepared Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
May 12, 2016
Good morning. Today on the agenda, we have a number of bills and judicial nominees.
The first bill, S. 247, the Expatriate Terrorist Act will be held over.
The next bill on the agenda is S. 2348, the Rapid DNA Act. It is sponsored by Senator Hatch and a bipartisan group of Committee members. In recent years, technology has evolved to the point where we can rapidly collect DNA samples from individuals who have been arrested. This bill would require the FBI to issue standards and procedures for its collection. And it would permit the results of Rapid DNA to be included in the DNA Index only if the criminal justice agencies taking Rapid DNA samples comply with FBI-approved standards and procedures. I support the bill.
The next item on our agenda is S. 2577, which would amend the Justice for All Act of 2004.
Among other things, this bill, which is sponsored by Senators Cornyn and Leahy, would authorize resources for forensic labs. It also would enhance convicted offenders’ access to post-conviction DNA testing. I will vote to report the bill today, but I hope to work with the bill’s sponsors to address some concerns about DNA evidence backlogs before the bill comes to the floor.
The final bill on the agenda is S. 2840, the POLICE Act, which has been introduced by Senators Cornyn and Leahy. This bill will allow law enforcement and medical personnel to utilize federal grant funds to train and better prepare for active shooter situations.
We also have 5 District Court nominees on today’s agenda. They are:
- Ron Russell, District of Utah
- Inga Bernstein, District of Massachusetts
- Stephanie Gallagher, District of Maryland
- Suzanne Mitchell, Western District of Oklahoma
- Scott Palk, Western District of Oklahoma
These nominees are on the agenda for the first time today. There’s been a request to hold them over, so they’ll be held over.
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