Date: 2015-06-02
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. My amendment is intended to ensure that the important forensic standards work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. or NIST. is fully funded. The criminal justice system relies on forensic science to identify and prosecute criminals and to exonerate the falsely accused. Justice is not served by either the falsely accused or the victims and their families when the wrong person is imprisoned. In a series of investigations over the last few years. The Washington Post. the Innocence Project. and the FBI itself have reported on a flawed forensic work that may be responsible for wrongful convictions in thousands of criminal cases. Innocent people have spent decades in prison. and our State certainly knows about many of themmy home county. as a matter of fact. Some may have already been put to death while the guilty have gone free. These investigations have covered hair analysis. bite mark analysis. and even DNA. which most people previously believed to be 100 percent accurate and reliable. In short. there has been a steady stream of bad news about flawed forensic work being used in criminal court. And I worry that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. In a year 2009 report. "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward." the National Academy of Sciences found that the interpretation of forensic evidence is severely compromised by the lack of supporting science and standards. Many forensic techniques and technologies lack a scientific foundation. Operational principles and procedures are not standardized. and there are often no standard protocols governing the reporting of forensic evidence. Since then. I have worked with colleagues in the Senate to develop legislation that would strengthen forensic science and standards. The administration also took notice and has initiated several activities. even without direct action from Congress. The Department of Justice and NIST have become strong partners in this effort. Now. some of my colleagues on Appropriations would like to gut one of these core activities. the standards development work managed by NIST. For reasons that I cannot comprehend. the report language accompanying this bill would forbid NIST from continuing the voluntary consensus standards development work already underway through the forensics scientific area committees. These committees coordinate development of standards and guidelines for the forensic science community to improve the quality and consistency of forensics evidence used by our justice system. These committees were established according to the longstanding and wellrespected NIST process for developing voluntary consensus standards. As such. the membership of these committees represent the full breadth and depth of stakeholder organizations. including forensic science practitioners. as well as academic scientists and engineers. law enforcement. and others. To the best of my knowledge. these committees have the support of the full range of stakeholders. Why would we stop. in its tracks. a voluntary consensus standards process that has proven itself effective time and time again? I can see no justifiable reason for trying to keep sound science out of the courtroom. Mr. Chair. since the language in question is in the committees report rather than the bill text and will not be sufficiently addressed with this amendment. I plan to withdraw this amendment but seek the approval of both the chair and the ranking member to help correct this language as we move toward the conference report. My colleagues. I hope. will work with the Senate to rectify this unjustified and unjust restriction.