Billy's Law

Floor Speech

* Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise to voice my support of H.R. 3965, the Help Find the Missing Act, a.k.a. ``Billy's Law.''

* Named after Billy Smolinski, a 31-year-old Connecticut man who went missing in 2004, this Act revamps our national systems for finding and identifying missing persons for the 21st century, and provides families with the updated tools and technology they need to find loved ones who have disappeared.

* Right now, we have two databases for missing persons and unidentified remains in America--the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS) and the FBI's National Crime Information Center, NCIC. And yet, neither share data with the other, and thus too much information slips through the bureaucratic cracks.

* ``Billy's Law'' rectifies this glaring error by combining these two systems into one comprehensive database and funding it appropriately, one that families can use and even update with additional information on loved ones who have disappeared. This bill is an outgrowth of recommendations made in the wake of Connecticut's 2007 Law Enforcement and Missing Persons Act, and it is an easy fix that will redound to the benefit of families all across America in search of a missing loved one.

* No one should have to deal with all the bureaucratic frustrations and red tape experienced by Billy's family as they searched for him. Put simply, ``Billy's Law'' removes a needless barrier between two stovepiped databases and brings our missing persons systems up-to-date with 21st century technology. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and to give thousands of American families the tools and the peace of mind they deserve.

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