the violence against women act re-authorizes the debbie smith d.n.a. grant program through 2024. this amendment simply requires state and local governments that recipients of the grant program to include information in their reports to the attorneys general on the best practices for reducing the acklog of d.n.a. evidence. this grant program was originally authorized under the justice for all act of 2004, to provide grants for state and local governments for the collection and analysis of forensic samples and to ensure the timely processing of d.n.a. evidence by law enforcement. congress re-authorized the program several times, most recently providing $151 million for fiscal year 2019. despite these efforts, the backlog of untested d.n.a. evidence is still high. according to reporting from the texas tribune, a paperback in the state of texas, it costs between $500 to $2,000 to test a kit and there are approximately 3,500 untested kits in texas alone. with us continuing to working to reduce this backlog so that we can bring justice to the victims of assault. state and local grant r

as in prior years the doj is pre posing to use the fund available you under the debbie smith program for dna analysis and capacity enhancement, quote, along with other state and local forensic activities. so long as sexual assault backlogs persist i believe this funding should be focused on dna analysis and capacity enhancement. what are some of the, quote, other local, state and federal forensic activities that are funded under this authority? >> the national institute of justice inside ojp, funds a program that strengthens the medical examiner and coroner systems within our country in a variety of ways supporting forensics pathologists and there's an alarming shortage of pathologists across the country. opioid crisis has created an additional strain due to overdose deaths. one of the focuses of our grant money today is on medical examiners and coroners. we also provide grants directly to forensic laboratories to encourage their research and the focus of the grant is to make sure that they have all the tools they need to have effective forensic testing and that has a real impact on

one of the lifesaving resources in this bill is the debbie smith d.n.a. backlog grant program. which which was -- which was created by legislation i first authored in 2004 and it is renewed in this bill through 2024. this legislation which has been called the most important anti-rape prevention legislation ever signed into law provides funding to localities to audit and process d.n.a. evidence kits, including unprosessed rape kits. each rape kit represents a life and if you convict that rapist and get them off the secrete you -- off the street you save the lives of other women and prevent rape. this is scrust one example of this important bill. i ask permission to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. ms. lesco: mr. speaker, i yield -- ms. lesco: mr. speaker, i -- ms. lesko: i yield two minutes to mrs. miller. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. miller: i'm rising to speak against h.r. 1585. domestic violence is a major problem in our communities and throughout our country.

in total, debbie smith d.n.a. grants are responsible for 45% of all matches made in cotus, which is truly remarkable. reauthorizing this legislation is a top priority for me as we work to continue chipping away at the nationwide rape kit backlog and provide these victims with the answers and the relief they need. over the years, i have had the pleasure of meeting with and working with debbie several times, and we have been fortunate to have her share her perspective before the judiciary committee on multiple occasions. i have also worked with two other inspiring victims from texas, lavinia masters and carol bart who, like debbie, had the courage to come forward and talk about a very difficult event in her life, but to use her pain as a way to help others. and they have also lent their voices, lavinia and carol, to advocating to reforms to the rape kit backlog. i'm grateful to these and the countless other survivors who bravely share their stories and ideas as we work together to eliminate the backlog once and for

let's talk to debbie smith whose daughter katherine was killed after meeting a man online, he's now serving good to see you and we appreciate you coming in to talk to us. appreciate you coming in to talk to us. i know it is difficult for you but tell us what happened. in catherine's case, she met this, i'll call him a monster but that's too good for him, really, on a dating site. they were together roughly six weeks, seven weeks. he murdered her. brutally. brutally, he stabbed her over 33 times. part of the problem that she had was the guy she met wasn't the guy she thought she met because he lied about his name? yes, he said his name was tony but actually his name was anthony. he said he was 36 but he was actually 46. he said he was married but his wife had died but that was a load of rubbish as well. it was a complete set of lies. part of the issue, i guess, and this is a lot of people who have dating experience online, wings can become intense quickly and that might inhibit the normal instincts you have when you meet someone instincts you have when you meet someone physically face—to—fac