Debbie Smith Act
Since 2004, the Debbie Smith Act has been helping to end the backlog of untested rape kits. In its first 20 years, the law facilitated over 300,000 DNA matches.
The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 is widely regarded as one of the most important anti-rape laws in U.S. history. Passed as part of the Justice for All Act, it was the first federal legislation to address the nation’s backlog of untested rape kits.
Status: Reauthorized Through FY2029
Twenty years after its inception, the Debbie Smith Act was reauthorized in July 2024 for an additional five years. President Biden, who cosponsored the original bill in 2004, signed this reauthorization into law, extending the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program through FY2029.
Debbie Smith’s Story
In 1989, Debbie Smith was attacked by a masked stranger who entered her home in Williamsburg, Virginia. The perpetrator sexually assaulted her repeatedly, threatening her life if she reported the crime.
Debbie underwent a sexual assault forensic exam (SAFE), and the DNA evidence was entered into the national DNA database, but investigators didn’t find a match—until 1995. That year, an imprisoned convictee’s DNA was at last entered into the database, where analysts got a cold hit—the fourth cold hit ever in the U.S. More than six years after the crime, DNA evidence identified the man who attacked Debbie.
Debbie’s courage and advocacy led to the creation and passage of the Debbie Smith Act of 2004, significantly reducing the backlog of untested rape kits nationwide and granting survivors long-awaited answers and justice.
“DNA gave me back my life. I can’t think of any way to say it better because I had become a shell of a person. This test put a name to a face and gave me my life again.”
– Debbie Smith, in an interview with the National Center for Victims of Crime
About the Rape Kit Backlog
DNA evidence is often critical for achieving justice in crimes of sexual violence, but the backlog of unanalyzed DNA evidence, often referred to as the rape kit backlog, is a major impediment to prosecuting perpetrators of sexual assault.
The rape kit backlog includes:
- Evidence never sent to a lab for testing, often called the “hidden backlog”
- Evidence that arrived at a crime lab but has never been tested
About the Debbie Smith Act
The Debbie Smith Act was the nation’s first piece of legislation aimed at ending the backlog. Since its enactment in 2004, the Debbie Smith Act has been renewed four times with bipartisan Congressional support. The law’s key provisions include
1. Funding for Crime Labs
The Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program provides funding to public crime laboratories, enabling them to process more DNA evidence more quickly—including evidence collected in rape kits.
The Debbie Smith Act is authorized to provide up to $151 million in funding per year, though Congress does not always appropriate the full amount. For instance, in fiscal year (FY) 2015, Congress appropriated only $117 million; in FY2023, it appropriated $130 million. The funds are distributed to all states.
In 2013, the Debbie Smith Act was amended through the SAFER Act. These amendments included:
- Ensuring that Congress appropriates at least the minimum amount of funding required for labs to build capacity and test evidence
- Supporting audits of any evidence still awaiting analysis at law enforcement agencies
- Tasking the Justice Department with developing national testing guidelines
2. Backlog Reduction
The Debbie Smith Act requires states to create plans for reducing their backlogs.
Grant recipients must comply with regulations, including:
- Creating explicit, transparent plans for reducing the backlog
- Meeting privacy standards when DNA evidence is collected from crime scenes or sexual assault forensic exams
Since the Debbie Smith Act became law, over 645,000 DNA crime scene samples have been processed and added to CODIS, resulting in more than 300,000 matches as of 2024.
Every hit represents the potential for concrete justice—justice that survivors might never have seen without this law.
3. A Stronger DNA Database
The Debbie Smith Act helps to strengthen CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System, which is the FBI’s national DNA database.
After forensic evidence is collected, it’s sent to a crime lab for processing. If the lab finds DNA, it develops a DNA profile and adds that profile to CODIS. Law enforcement officials can then look for a match by comparing the DNA profile against the hundreds of thousands of offender profiles already logged in state databases.
Every time a new profile is added, it expands the database and increases the odds of securing convictions for perpetrators.
“DNA testing does take time. It’s not done as quickly as it is on TV. But what DNA yields is truth, and truth is worth the wait.”
Debbie Smith, in an interview with the National Center for Victims of Crime
Reauthorizing the Debbie Smith Act
Many laws require reauthorization at specific times. When authorization expires, Congress must pass a new bill to reauthorize the law. The Debbie Smith Act’s grant program has been reauthorized continually since 2004, each time with overwhelming bipartisan support.
The Timeline
- 2004: The Debbie Smith Act of 2004 was signed into law with funding authorization through 2008
- 2008: The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2008 extended the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program through 2014
- 2014: This reauthorization maintained the DNA Backlog Grant Program through 2019 and incorporated SAFER Act provisions
- 2019: In a last-minute move, Congress reauthorized the Debbie Smith Act on December 30, 2019, extending it through 2024
- 2024: This most recent reauthorization extended the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program through 2029
Each reauthorization ensures that the push to clear rape kit backlogs will continue, offering hope for justice to thousands of survivors whose kits are still untested.
“This legislation is one of the best when it comes to serving victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes. It responds to questions that were thought insoluble, it identifies those who would remain nameless, and it exonerates those who have been wrongly accused. This bill solves crimes from the past while working in the present and building for the future. But most of all, it offers justice, resolution, and peace for victims. That is our government working at its best!“
– Debbie Smith, survivor, advocate, and founder of H-E-A-R-T
How You Can Help
- Every four years, RAINN urges Congress to reauthorize the Debbie Smith Act’s DNA Backlog Grant Program and increase its funding cap.
- Every year, RAINN pushes for Congress to allocate the maximum allowable funding.
You can fight for justice by joining RAINN’s ongoing advocacy for a continually authorized, fully-funded Debbie Smith Act!
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and en Español.
Call 800.656.HOPE (4673)
Chat at hotline.RAINN.org
Text HOPE to 64673
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