House of Representatives addresses the rape kit backlog through SAFER Act

December 5, 2012 |
Valor

Today, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Congresspeople Ted Poe (TX-02) and Carolyn Maloney (D-14) were scheduled to hold a press conference to discuss the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act of 2012. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), The SAFER Act (H.R. 6628/S. 3250) is a no-cost bill that will create the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER), which will track the status of DNA evidence collected in rape cases (commonly known as rape kits). RAINN states,

SAFER will bring transparency to the DNA rape kit testing process, help us efficiently target resources to cities that have the biggest backlogs, and empower the communities with information about the rape kit testing status in their area. It will help eliminate the evidence backlog and take thousands of rapists off the streets.

RAINN president Scott Berkowitz stated, 

The SAFER Act is the vital next step in our efforts to eliminate the backlog of untested DNA evidence. It will not cost any additional money — it reallocates existing spending — and it will lead to testing more DNA evidence and taking more rapists off our streets.

According to our colleagues at RAINN, Rep. Poe and Rep. Maloney will be introducing the SAFER Act of 2012 (H.R. 1523) in the House tomorrow (December 6, 2012). Senator Cornyn and Senator Bennet introduced the Senate companion bill (S. 3250) in May 2012.
To learn more about this piece of legislation and to contact your representatives, click here.