February 13, 2024
Dear Members of Congress,
Independent Women’s Voice, which fights to enhance people’s freedom, opportunities, and well-being, supports the reauthorization of S.499/H.R.1105, the Debbie Smith Act. This important legislation provides support to law enforcement and crime labs in all 50 states to analyze untested rape and sexual assault kits.
This critical program enhances prosecutors’ ability to bring this evidence to trial and improves law enforcement’s timely collection of DNA evidence.
Since this bipartisan legislation became law in 2004, more than 860,000 DNA cases have been processed. In addition to crime scene evidence, Debbie Smith funds are also utilized to process offender DNA samples to ensure evidence from unsolved crimes can be matched against a database of known offenders, similar to the criminal fingerprint databases.
Thank you, Senator John Cornyn and Congresswoman Ann Wagner, for leading this important effort in the United States Congress. We urge a speedy reauthorization of this vitally important legislation.
Respectfully,
Andrea G. Bottner
Vice President for External Relations
Independent Women’s Voice