SAFER Act Signed into Law

By Senator John Cornyn- (R - TX)



Washington, D.C. - January 9, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after President Trump signed his Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act into law. The SAFER Act reauthorizes, strengthens, and extends the Sexual Assault Forensic Reporting program to help fight the nationwide rape kit backlog.

“Victims of sexual assault shouldn’t have to live in fear while evidence that could bring their attackers to justice goes untested,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This law will assist in the efforts of our state and local law enforcement agencies to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits so survivors can get the justice and closure they deserve.”

The SAFER Act was introduced by Senators Cornyn, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Michael Bennet (D-CO). Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Rob Portman (R-OH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) were cosponsors of the legislation. The SAFER Act also ensures pediatric forensic nurses are eligible for training, which addresses the need for pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners in responding to children suffering from abuse. A one-page summary of the bill is available here.

Sens. Cornyn and Bennet were the authors of the Sexual Assault Forensic Reporting Act, a 2013 law creating the SAFER Program which has helped law enforcement reduce the rape kit backlog through existing funds under the Debbie Smith Act. The legislation increased the amount of these funds spent on untested kits by 35 percent and allowed 5-7 percent to be used on SAFER program audits. It helps state and local law enforcement agencies address both the laboratory and storage backlogs by providing funding to conduct one-year audits of untested sexual assault evidence, which has uncovered tens of thousands of untested rape kits on shelves and in labs across the nation.


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The Megan Rondini Act Introduced

Washington, D.C. - July 28, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) filed H.R. 3415, the bi-partisan Megan Rondini Act, requiring hospitals to have a SAFE – Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner –available 24 hours a day/7 days a week, OR to have a plan in place to get that victim to another nearby hospital with a SAFE. The law honors young Texan Megan Rondini who committed suicide after being raped, failed by law enforcement, the University of Alabama, and the hospital.

Megan Rondini was enrolled at the University of Alabama when she was raped by a man from the richest family in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. After escaping her attacker, Megan went directly to the hospital for a rape kit, and contacted the police. The Hospital did not have a SAFE, a nurse or doctor trained in forensic procedure, on staff. The DNA from her rape kit was never properly examined, and its current whereabouts are publically unknown. She was dismissed, ignored, blamed, and forgotten. Feeling like she had nowhere to turn, Megan later took her own life.

“Rape is a crime that destroys the very soul of a victim,” said Congressman Ted Poe. Often times, it is a fate worse than death. A victim must relive their attack over and over again. I filed the Megan Rondini Act to ensure victims of crime have access to assistance and the ability to pursue justice. Hospitals across the country must have a SAFE on staff 24/7 or have a plan in place to get the victim to a nearby hospital that can provide forensic services. The failures that drove Megan to commit suicide must not be allowed to continue in our society. Victims must be given a voice and the ability to have evidence collected and tested to bring them justice. This legislation helps give them both.”