TRACE Act

Bill: 119-s-1038
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]
Introduced: 2025-03-13
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Computers and information technology

Congressional oversight

Criminal justice information and records

Government information and archives

Missing persons
Latest action: action_date: 2025-09-04
text: Held at the desk.

Summaries:

tv_txt: 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1038 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AN ACT To direct the Attorney General to include a data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to indicate whether the last known location of a missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act or the TRACE Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Attorney General The term Attorney General means the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice. (2) Federal land The term Federal land means land owned by the United States that is under the administrative jurisdiction of— (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; (B) the Secretary of the Interior (except land held in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe); or (C) the Secretary of Defense only with respect to land and water resources projects administered by the Corps of Engineers. (3) Territorial waters of the United States The term territorial waters of the United States means all waters of the territorial sea of the United States, 12 nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of the United States and seaward of the territorial baseline, as described in Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988. 3. Data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System related to Federal land and territorial waters The Attorney General shall include in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System a data field to indicate whether the last known location of the missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land or in the territorial waters of the United States, including any specific location details about the unit of Federal land or the area of the territorial waters of the United States that was the last known location of the missing person. 4. Report Not later than January 15 of the second calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that contains, for the previous calendar year, the number of cases in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for which the missing person’s last known location was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land or in the territorial waters of the United States.

Passed the Senate September 2, 2025. Secretary

tv_txt: II Calendar No. 126 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1038 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 13, 2025 Mr. Tillis (for himself, Mr. Padilla , Mrs. Capito , Mr. Blumenthal , Mr. Murphy , and Mr. Coons ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary July 28, 2025 Reported by Mr. Grassley , with an amendment Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic A BILL To direct the Attorney General to include a data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to indicate whether the last known location of a missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act or the TRACE Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Attorney General The term Attorney General means the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice. (2) Federal land The term Federal land means land owned by the United States that is under the administrative jurisdiction of— (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; (B) the Secretary of the Interior (except land held in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe); or (C) the Secretary of Defense only with respect to land and water resources projects administered by the Corps of Engineers. 3. Data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System related to Federal land The Attorney General shall include in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System a data field to indicate whether the last known location of the missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land, including any specific location details about the unit of Federal land that was the last known location of the missing person. 4. Report Not later than January 15 of the second calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that contains, for the previous calendar year, the number of cases in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for which the missing person’s last known location was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act or the TRACE Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Attorney General The term Attorney General means the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice. (2) Federal land The term Federal land means land owned by the United States that is under the administrative jurisdiction of— (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; (B) the Secretary of the Interior (except land held in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe); or (C) the Secretary of Defense only with respect to land and water resources projects administered by the Corps of Engineers. (3) Territorial waters of the United States The term territorial waters of the United States means all waters of the territorial sea of the United States, 12 nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of the United States and seaward of the territorial baseline, as described in Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988. 3. Data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System related to Federal land and territorial waters The Attorney General shall include in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System a data field to indicate whether the last known location of the missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land or in the territorial waters of the United States, including any specific location details about the unit of Federal land or the area of the territorial waters of the United States that was the last known location of the missing person. 4. Report Not later than January 15 of the second calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that contains, for the previous calendar year, the number of cases in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for which the missing person’s last known location was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land or in the territorial waters of the United States.

July 28, 2025 Reported with an amendment

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1038 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 13, 2025 Mr. Tillis (for himself, Mr. Padilla , Mrs. Capito , Mr. Blumenthal , and Mr. Murphy ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To direct the Attorney General to include a data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to indicate whether the last known location of a missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act or the TRACE Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Attorney General The term Attorney General means the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice. (2) Federal land The term Federal land means land owned by the United States that is under the administrative jurisdiction of— (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; (B) the Secretary of the Interior (except land held in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe); or (C) the Secretary of Defense only with respect to land and water resources projects administered by the Corps of Engineers. 3. Data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System related to Federal land The Attorney General shall include in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System a data field to indicate whether the last known location of the missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land, including any specific location details about the unit of Federal land that was the last known location of the missing person. 4. Report Not later than January 15 of the second calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that contains, for the previous calendar year, the number of cases in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for which the missing person’s last known location was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land.