Skip to main content
S 2174 116th Congress Senate Crime and Law Enforcement Border security and unlawful immigration Congressional oversight Crime victims Criminal justice information and records Criminal procedure and sentencing Emergency communications systems Evidence and witnesses Federal-Indian relations Genetics Government studies and investigations Health information and medical records Intergovernmental relations Law enforcement administration and funding Law enforcement officers Missing persons Right of privacy State and local government operations

Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019

Introduced: July 18, 2019 Introduced by: Cornyn, John Republican · Texas See on congress.gov
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
 Everywhere this bill has been 23 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 31, 2020
Became Public Law No: 116-277.
Dec 31, 2020
Signed by President.
Dec 21, 2020
Presented to President.
Dec 20, 2020
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Dec 18, 2020
Senate agreed to the House amendments to S. 2174 by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7828)
Dec 18, 2020
Resolving differences -- Senate actions: Senate agreed to the House amendments to S. 2174 by Unanimous Consent.
Dec 17, 2020
Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendments to Senate bill.
Dec 16, 2020
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
Dec 16, 2020
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Dec 16, 2020
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H7217-7218)
Dec 16, 2020
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H7217-7218)
Dec 16, 2020
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 2174.
Dec 16, 2020
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7217-7219)
Dec 16, 2020
Ms. Scanlon moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Nov 17, 2020
Held at the desk.
Nov 17, 2020
Received in the House.
Nov 17, 2020
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Nov 16, 2020
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S6714-6715)
Nov 16, 2020
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(text: CR S6714-6715)
Nov 16, 2020
Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S6714-6715)
Nov 16, 2020
Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Jul 18, 2019
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Jul 18, 2019
Introduced in Senate
 Amendments to this bill 1

Amendments propose changes to this bill. Members vote on amendments separately before the final bill vote. An agreed amendment becomes part of the bill; a failed amendment does not.

1 agreed to

AmendmentSponsorPurposeStatusLatest action
SAMDT 2,685 Cornyn, John To strike the provision giving entities in southern border States priority in the award of grants related to … Agreed to Nov 16, 2020
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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.

What's happening now December 31, 2020

Became Public Law No: 116-277.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 8772 Related bill Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2020
 Bill text 5 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Republican 1
R
Tillis, Thomas
North Carolina · Jul 18, 2019
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 2174: Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-2174/
MLA
"S. 2174: Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-2174/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 2174, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-2174/.
Markdown link
[S. 2174: Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-2174/)
Report a problem