II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2736 

To reduce the rape kit backlog and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 

Mr. FRANKEN (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. HATCH) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To reduce the rape kit backlog and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for Survivors 

5 of Sexual Assault Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Rape is a serious problem in the United 

9 States. 

10 (2) The Department of Justice reports that in 

11 2006, there were an estimated 261,000 rapes and 


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sexual assaults, and studies show only 1 1 ⁄3 of rapes 

2 are reported. 

3 (3) The collection and testing of DNA evidence 

4 is a critical tool in solving rape cases. Law enforce5 ment officials using the Combined DNA Index Sys6 tem have matched unknown DNA evidence taken 

7 from crime scenes with known offender DNA pro8 files in the State and National DNA database 2,371 

9 times. 

10 (4) Despite the availability of funding under the 

11 amendments made by the Debbie Smith Act of 2004 

12 (title II of Public Law 108–405; 118 Stat. 2266), 

13 there exists a significant rape kit backlog in the 

14 United States. 

15 (5) A 1999 study commissioned by the National 

16 Institute of Justice estimated that there was an an17 nual backlog of 180,000 rape kits that had not been 

18 analyzed. 

19 (6) No agency regularly collects information re20 garding the scope of the rape kit backlog in the 

21 United States. 

22 (7) Certain States cap reimbursement for rape 

kits at levels that are less than 1 23 ⁄2 the average cost 

24 of a rape kit in those States. Yet, section 2010 of 

25 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 


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1 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–4) requires 

2 that in order to be eligible for grants under part T 

3 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 

4 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg et seq.) (commonly 

5 known as ‘‘STOP Grants’’), States shall administer 

6 rape kits to survivors free of charge or provide full 

7 reimbursement. 

8 (8) There is a lack of sexual assault nurse ex9 aminers and health professionals who have received 

10 specialized training specific to sexual assault victims. 

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

12 The purpose of this Act is to seek appropriate means 

13 to address the problems surrounding forensic evidence col14 lection in cases of sexual assault, including rape kit back15 logs, reimbursement for or free provision of rape kits, and 

16 the availability of trained health professionals to admin17 ister rape kit examinations. 

18 SEC. 4. RAPE KIT BACKLOGS. 

19 (a) ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL REQUIREMENT FOR RE20 CEIVING EDWARD BYRNE GRANTS.—Section 502 of title 

21 I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

22 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3752) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para24 graph (6); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(5) A certification that the applicant has im4 plemented a policy requiring all rape kits collected 

5 by or on behalf of the applicant to be sent to crime 

6 laboratories for forensic analysis.’’. 

7 (b) ADDITIONAL DEBBIE SMITH GRANT REQUIRE8 MENTS; DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the DNA Analysis 

9 Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘samples 

12 from rape kits, samples from other sexual assault 

13 evidence, and samples taken in cases without an 

14 identified suspect.’’ and inserting ‘‘to eliminate a 

15 rape kit backlog and to ensure that DNA analyses 

16 of samples from rape kits are carried out in a timely 

17 manner.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe22 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(8) if the State or unit of local government 

25 has a rape kit backlog, include a plan to eliminate 


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1 the rape kit backlog that includes performance 

2 measures to assess progress of the State or local 

3 unit of government toward a 50 percent reduction in 

4 the rape kit backlog over a 2-year period; and 

5 ‘‘(9) specify the portion of the amounts made 

6 available under the grant under this section that the 

7 State or unit of local government shall use for the 

8 purpose of DNA analyses of samples from untested 

9 rape kits.’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (f)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

12 the end; 

13 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

14 paragraph (3); and 

15 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(2) the amount of funds from a grant under 

18 this section expended for the purposes of DNA anal19 yses for untested rape kits; and’’; and 

20 (4) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) RAPE KIT.—The term ‘rape kit’ means 

24 DNA evidence relating to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) sexual assault (as defined in section 

2 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

3 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a))); or 

4 ‘‘(B) conduct described in section 2251, 

5 2251A, or 2252 of chapter 110 of title 18, 

6 United States Code, regardless of whether the 

7 conduct affects interstate commerce. 

8 ‘‘(2) RAPE KIT BACKLOG.—The term ‘rape kit 

9 backlog’ means untested rape kits that are in the 

10 possession or control of— 

11 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency; or 

12 ‘‘(B) a public or private crime laboratory. 

13 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State 

14 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

15 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 

16 Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 

17 Northern Mariana Islands. 

18 ‘‘(4) UNTESTED RAPE KIT.—The term ‘untest19 ed rape kit’ means a rape kit collected from a victim 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) has not undergone forensic analysis; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) for a combined total of not less than 

24 60 days, has been in the possession or control 

25 of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a law enforcement agency; or 

2 ‘‘(ii) a public or private crime labora3 tory.’’. 

4 (c) ADJUSTING BYRNE GRANT FUNDS FOR COMPLI5 ANCE AND NONCOMPLIANCE; STATISTICAL REVIEW.— 

6 Section 505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

7 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) ADJUSTING BYRNE GRANT FUNDS FOR COMPLI10 ANCE AND NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection the term 

12 ‘date for implementation’ means the last day of the 

13 second fiscal year beginning after the date of enact14 ment of this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR COMPLIANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) REDUCTION OF RAPE KIT BACK17 LOG.— 

18 ‘‘(i) 50 PERCENT REDUCTION.—For 

19 any fiscal year beginning after the date of 

20 enactment of this subsection, a State or 

21 unit of local government shall receive an 

22 allocation under this section in an amount 

23 equal to 110 percent of the otherwise ap24 plicable allocation to the State or unit of 

25 local government if the State or unit of 


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1 local government reduced the rape kit 

2 backlog by not less than 50 percent, as 

3 compared to the date of enactment of this 

4 subsection. 

5 ‘‘(ii) 75 PERCENT REDUCTION.—For 

6 any fiscal year beginning after the date of 

7 enactment of this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(I) a State or unit of local gov9 ernment that has received additional 

10 funds under clause (i) in any previous 

11 fiscal year shall receive an allocation 

12 under this section in an amount equal 

13 to 110 percent of the otherwise appli14 cable allocation to the State or unit of 

15 local government if the State or unit 

16 of local government reduced the rape 

17 kit backlog by not less than 75 per18 cent, as compared to the date of en19 actment of this subsection; and 

20 ‘‘(II) a State or unit of local gov21 ernment that has not received addi22 tional funds under clause (i) in any 

23 previous fiscal year shall receive an al24 location under this section in an 

25 amount equal to 120 percent of the 


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1 otherwise applicable allocation to the 

2 State or unit of local government if 

3 the State or unit of local government 

4 reduced the rape kit backlog by not 

5 less than 75 percent, as compared to 

6 the date of enactment of this sub7 section. 

8 ‘‘(iii) 95 PERCENT REDUCTION.—For 

9 any fiscal year beginning after the date of 

10 enactment of this subsection— 

11 ‘‘(I) a State or unit of local gov12 ernment that has received additional 

13 funds under clause (ii) in any previous 

14 fiscal year shall receive an allocation 

15 under this section in an amount equal 

16 to 110 percent of the otherwise appli17 cable allocation to the State or unit of 

18 local government if the State or unit 

19 of local government reduced the rape 

20 kit backlog by not less than 95 per21 cent, as compared to the date of en22 actment of this subsection; 

23 ‘‘(II) a State or unit of local gov24 ernment that has received additional 

25 funds under clause (i) in any previous 


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1 fiscal year, and has not received addi2 tional funds under clause (ii) in any 

3 previous fiscal year, shall receive an 

4 allocation under this section in an 

5 amount equal to 120 percent of the 

6 otherwise applicable allocation to the 

7 State or unit of local government if 

8 the State or unit of local government 

9 reduced the rape kit backlog by not 

10 less than 95 percent, as compared to 

11 the date of enactment of this sub12 section; and 

13 ‘‘(III) a State or unit of local 

14 government that has not received ad15 ditional funds under clause (i) or (ii) 

16 in any previous fiscal year shall re17 ceive an allocation under this section 

18 in an amount equal to 130 percent of 

19 the otherwise applicable allocation to 

20 the State or unit of local government 

21 if the State or unit of local govern22 ment reduced the rape kit backlog by 

23 not less than 95 percent, as compared 

24 to the date of enactment of this sub25 section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TIMELY PROCESSING.—For the first 

2 fiscal year beginning after the date of enact3 ment of this subsection, and each fiscal year 

4 thereafter, a State or unit of local government 

5 that, during the previous fiscal year, tested 95 

6 percent of all rape kits collected from a victim 

7 during that previous fiscal year not later than 

8 60 days after the date the rape kit was taken 

9 into the possession or control of a law enforce10 ment agency of the State or unit of local gov11 ernment shall receive an allocation under this 

12 section in an amount equal to 105 percent of 

13 the otherwise applicable allocation to the State 

14 or unit of local government. 

15 ‘‘(3) WITHHOLDING OF GRANT FUNDS FOR

16 NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) FAILURE TO REDUCE RAPE KIT

18 BACKLOG.— 

19 ‘‘(i) YEAR 1.—For the first fiscal year 

20 after the date for implementation, a State 

21 or unit of local government shall receive an 

22 allocation under this section in an amount 

23 equal to 90 percent of the otherwise appli24 cable allocation to the State or unit of local 


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1 government if the State or unit of local 

2 government— 

3 ‘‘(I) has a rape kit backlog; 

4 ‘‘(II) received a grant under this 

5 subpart during each of the 2 previous 

6 fiscal years; and 

7 ‘‘(III) has failed to reduce the 

8 rape kit backlog by not less than 50 

9 percent, as compared to the date of 

10 enactment of this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(ii) YEAR 3.—For the third fiscal 

12 year beginning after the date for imple13 mentation, a State or unit of local govern14 ment shall receive an allocation under this 

15 section in an amount equal to 90 percent 

16 of the otherwise applicable allocation to the 

17 State or unit of local government if the 

18 State or unit of local government— 

19 ‘‘(I) has a rape kit backlog; 

20 ‘‘(II) received a grant under this 

21 subpart during the previous fiscal 

22 year; and 

23 ‘‘(III) has failed to reduce the 

24 rape kit backlog by not less than 75 


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1 percent, as compared to the date of 

2 enactment of this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(iii) YEARS 5, 7, AND 9.—For each of 

4 the fifth, seventh, and ninth fiscal years 

5 beginning after the date for implementa6 tion, a State or unit of local government 

7 shall receive an allocation under this sec8 tion in an amount equal to 90 percent of 

9 the otherwise applicable allocation to the 

10 State or unit of local government if the 

11 State or unit of local government— 

12 ‘‘(I) has a rape kit backlog; 

13 ‘‘(II) received a grant under this 

14 subpart during the previous fiscal 

15 year; and 

16 ‘‘(III) has failed to reduce the 

17 rape kit backlog by not less than 95 

18 percent, as compared to the date of 

19 enactment of this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(B) TIMELY PROCESSING.—For the sec21 ond fiscal year beginning after the date for im22 plementation, and each fiscal year thereafter, a 

23 State or unit of local government that, during 

24 the previous fiscal year, tested less than 95 per25 cent of the rape kits collected from a victim 


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1 during that previous fiscal year not later than 

2 90 days after the date the rape kit was taken 

3 into the possession or control of a law enforce4 ment agency of the State or unit of local gov5 ernment shall receive an allocation under this 

6 section in an amount equal to 95 percent of the 

7 otherwise applicable allocation to the State or 

8 unit of local government. 

9 ‘‘(j) ANNUAL STATISTICAL REVIEW AND REPORT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Na11 tional Institute of Justice of the Department of Jus12 tice (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Director’) 

13 shall conduct an annual comprehensive statistical re14 view of the number of untested rape kits collected by 

15 Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement 

16 agencies. 

17 ‘‘(2) REPORT OF DATA TO DIRECTOR.—Each 

18 law enforcement agency of the Federal Government 

19 or of a State or unit of local government receiving 

20 a grant under this subpart (in this subsection re21 ferred to as a ‘covered law enforcement agency’) 

22 shall record and report to the Director the number 

23 of untested rape kits administered by or on behalf 

24 of, or in the possession or control of, the covered law 

25 enforcement agency at the end of each fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE

2 STATES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 

4 years after the date of enactment of this sub5 section, and annually thereafter, the Director 

6 shall submit to Congress and the States a re7 port regarding the number of untested rape kits 

8 administered by or on behalf of, or in the pos9 session of, a covered law enforcement agency. 

10 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

11 The Director shall include, in the second report, 

12 under subparagraph (A), and each subsequent 

13 report, the percentage change in the number of 

14 untested rape kits for each covered law enforce15 ment agency, as compared to the previous year. 

16 ‘‘(4) PENALTY.—For fiscal year 2011, and each 

17 fiscal year thereafter, if a State or unit of local gov18 ernment has received a grant under this subpart, 

19 and a covered law enforcement agency of the State 

20 or local government has failed to report the data re21 quired under paragraph (2), the State or unit of 

22 local government shall receive an allocation under 

23 this section in an amount equal to 95 percent of the 

24 otherwise applicable allocation to the State or unit 

25 of local government. 


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1 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) RAPE KIT.—The term ‘rape kit’ means 

3 DNA evidence relating to— 

4 ‘‘(A) sexual assault (as defined in section 

5 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

6 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a))); or 

7 ‘‘(B) conduct described in section 2251, 

8 2251A, or 2252 of chapter 110 of title 18, 

9 United States Code, regardless of whether the 

10 conduct affects interstate commerce. 

11 ‘‘(2) RAPE KIT BACKLOG.—The term ‘rape kit 

12 backlog’ means untested rape kits that are in the 

13 possession or control of— 

14 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency; or 

15 ‘‘(B) a public or private crime laboratory. 

16 ‘‘(3) UNTESTED RAPE KIT.—The term ‘untest17 ed rape kit’ means a rape kit collected from a victim 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(A) has not undergone forensic analysis; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) for a combined total not less than 60 

22 days, has been in the possession or control of— 

23 ‘‘(i) a law enforcement agency; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) a public or private crime labora25 tory.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. RAPE KIT BILLING. 

2 (a) COORDINATION WITH REGIONAL HEALTH CARE

3 PROVIDERS.—Section 2010(a)(1) of title I of the Omnibus 

4 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

5 3796gg–4(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘assault.’’ and in6 serting ‘‘assault and coordinates with regional health care 

7 providers to notify victims of sexual assault of the avail8 ability of rape exams at no cost to the victims.’’. 

9 (b) REPEAL OF REIMBURSEMENT OPTION.—Effec10 tive 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, section 

11 2010(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

12 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–4(b)) is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) by striking paragraph (3); 

15 (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after 

16 ‘‘victim;’’; and 

17 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘victims; or’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘victims.’’. 

19 (c) PROVISION OF RAPE KITS REGARDLESS OF CO20 OPERATION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Section 2010(d) 

21 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

22 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–4(d)) is amended by strik23 ing ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION’’ and all that follows 

24 through the end of paragraph (1) and inserting the fol25 lowing: 

26 ‘‘(d) NONCOOPERATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State, Indian tribal gov2 ernment, or unit of local government shall not be in 

3 compliance with this section unless the State, Indian 

4 tribal government, or unit of local government com5 plies with subsection (b) without regard to whether 

6 the victim cooperates with the law enforcement 

7 agency investigating the offense.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINER TRAINING. 

9 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 40002(a) of the Violence 

10 Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (29) through 

13 (37) as paragraphs (30) through (38), respectively; 

14 and 

15 (2) inserting after paragraph (28) the following: 

16 ‘‘(29) TRAINED EXAMINER.—The term ‘trained 

17 examiner’ means a health care professional who has 

18 received specialized training specific to sexual as19 sault victims, including training regarding gathering 

20 forensic evidence and medical needs.’’. 

21 (b) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—Section 2101(b) of 

22 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 

23 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh(b)) is amended by adding at 

24 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(14) To provide for sexual assault forensic 

2 medical personnel examiners to collect and preserve 

3 evidence, provide expert testimony, and provide 

4 treatment of trauma relating to sexual assault.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE AVAILABILITY AT INDIAN 

6 HEALTH SERVICES STUDY. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

8 States shall conduct a study of the availability of sexual 

9 assault nurse examiners and trained examiners (as defined 

10 in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act 

11 of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)), as amended by this Act), 

12 at all Indian Health Service facilities operated pursuant 

13 to contracts under the Indian Self-Determination and 

14 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.). 

15 (b) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

16 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

17 Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 

18 the Committee on the Judiciary and to the Committee on 

19 Indian Affairs of the Senate and to the Committee on the 

20 Judiciary and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

21 House of Representatives a report containing the findings 

22 of the study conducted under subsection (a), and rec23 ommendations for improving the availability of sexual as24 sault nurse examiners and trained examiners (as defined 


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1 in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act 

2 of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)), as amended by this Act). 

Æ 


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