Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019
Public Law 116-277 · S. 2174 · 116th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Donald Trump (R) on Dec 31, 2020 · Crime and Law Enforcement
Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Cosponsors (3): Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Thom Tillis,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019
This bill revises the authority for state grants to improve the reporting of unidentified and missing persons.
The bill authorizes grants to be used for additional activities. In particular, grants may be used to improve the transportation, processing, and identification of missing persons and unidentified remains, including with respect to migrants. Further, the bill expands eligible entities to include local governments, medical examiners' offices, certain accredited and publicly funded laboratories, and certain nonprofit organizations.
In addition, the bill expands the allowable uses of grant funds to include costs related to transportation, hiring, and procuring forensic equipment.
The bill requires any DNA reference sample that is received from a suspected biological family member and uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System to be used only for identifying missing persons and unidentified remains.
Next, the bill requires the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to purchase, deploy, and maintain no more than 170 rescue beacons along the southern border to mitigate migrant deaths.
The bill also requires the CBP, the Department of Justice, and the Government Accountability Office to submit specified reports to Congress.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
H.R. 8772Related bill
Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2020
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 21 actions.
- Dec 31, 2020Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 116-277.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 21, 2020FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Dec 20, 2020FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Dec 18, 2020Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendments to S. 2174 by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Resolving differences -- Senate actions: Senate agreed to the House amendments to S. 2174 by Unanimous Consent.
- Dec 17, 2020FloorFloor · Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendments to Senate bill.
- Dec 16, 2020FloorFloor · The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 2174.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Ms. Scanlon moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Nov 17, 2020FloorFloor · Held at the desk.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Nov 16, 2020FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- Jul 18, 2019CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.
- Agreed to
S.Amdt. 2685SenateSen. John CornynR-TX· offered Nov 16, 2020Agreed to
To strike the provision giving entities in southern border States priority in the award of grants related to the identification and processing of unidentified remains.
Nov 16, 2020: Amendment SA 2685 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.