ON THE ROAD TO PASSING BILLY’s LAW (Federal Law) in the 112th Congress! YOUR help is needed!!!

[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

 

ON THE ROAD TO PASSING BILLY’s LAW in the 112th Congress! YOUR help is needed!!!

• When one Congress ends it wipes the slate clean so all actions taken before the Congress ended in January 2011 under the 111th Congress now need to be redone.
  
  
• This includes seeking cosponsorship and signing petitions all had to be restarted when the 111th Congress ended.
  
  
• Much work is needed and needed quickly. We need everyone’s help to be successful from families of the missing, advocates, concerned citizens to the general public.
  
  Note: This is the Federal Law not the Connecticut State Law! This law benfits the nation! If you have any questions, need further instructions or help determining your Congressman or Senators please email us at [e-mail]

 

We need everyone to write, phone or email your Senators and Congressmen and ask for their co-sponsorship:

 

• Click here for Peace4 Billy's Law Group with State-by-State contacts/template letter: http://peace4missing.ning.com/group/billyslawbystatehouseandsenatec...
  
  
• -Click here for Senators
  
  (http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm)
  
  
• -Click here for Congressmen
  
  (http://www.house.gov/representatives/ )

 

This is a  letter that is very well done for you to use when writing to your Senators and Congressmen.  (Letter was created by Becky Castillo.)

 

NOTE:  Remember this is a sample letter, All the facts are here use some of it, part of it, and in some cases if you have to use it all. In the letter you will see (Insert your personal story ) make sure you do this, when you are finished have it be your own.

 

• When writing to your Congressmen use HR 1300 in your letter.
• When writing to your Senator use SR 702 in your letter.

 

TEMPLATE LETTER: ______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Senator [or Congressman],

 

I am writing this letter in support of pending legislation, the Help Find the Missing Act - Billy's Law (HR 1300 / SR 702). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 4,000 unidentified remains are discovered each year.

 

After one year, 1,000 of these bodies remain unidentified. With tens of thousands of people reported missing each year, it is likely that a family member, friend, or loved one is looking for that unidentified person and simply can't find them due to the absence of a cooperative effort by law enforcement across the country.

Some law enforcement agencies have a lackadaisical attitude when they receive a report for the “voluntarily missing” and often there is very little effort to search for them. The problem is when the case goes long term. If there is any follow-up at all, often it is long after the initial report. Often those long term cases have not been resolved because the missing person has died and their remains lay unidentified in a county morgue or cemetery.

 

(Insert personal story)

 

The problem we face is there is no national protocol in play to assist investigators to bridge the gap between missing persons and unidentified persons cases.

 

The Help Find the Missing Act will bridge the gap.

 

The National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is by far becoming one of the best ways for the public and law enforcement agencies across the country to work together to help bring missing loved ones home! Since its launch the database of unidentified decedents and missing persons has proved essential in solving many cases. With the passing of Billy's Law, this number only stands to grow. Unfortunately, without the funding of Billy's Law not all law enforcement agencies are able to allocate the resources necessary to use the NamUs system.

 

The passing of Billy's Law would make it possible for agencies across the country to input information on their unidentified decedents, increasing the number of case resolutions and potentially bringing closure to families of missing persons all across our country.

 

I support this funding and hope that you do as well. I respectfully urge you to pass HR 1300 / SR 702 when it comes before you.

 

Respectfully,

 

Full Name

Street, City, State, ZipCode

Email / Phone Number 

 

# # #

 

___________________________________________________________END OF TEMPLATE LETTER


 
 
On behalf of the entire team here at Peace4 the Missing (Team Billy’s Law), we really appreciate your support and your hard work to make the road smoother for all families of the missing, both present and future. Please contact us if you have any questions.

 

Here is some background information:

Bill Summary & Status 112th Congress (2011 - 2012): H.R.1300
(Check http://www.thomas.gov and search on the bill number HR 1300 or SR 702 for current legislative updates.)

 

H.R.1300 | Latest Title: Billy's Law | Sponsor: Rep Murphy, Christopher S. [CT-5] (introduced 3/31/2011) | Cosponsors : Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] - 3/31/2011 | Related Bills: S.702 | Latest Major Action: 3/31/2011 Referred to House committee. | Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. SUMMARY AS OF: 3/31/2011--Introduced. Billy's Law or the Help Find the Missing Act - Authorizes the Attorney General to maintain public databases, known as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System or NamUs, to contain missing persons records and unidentified remains cases to assist in identifying missing people and solve cases of unidentified human remains. (Transfers to such System all functions, personnel, assets, liabilities, and administrative actions applicable to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System carried out by the National Institute of Justice before enactment of this Act.) Directs the Attorney General to: (1) provide for the sharing of information on missing persons and unidentified human remains contained in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing and unidentified person database and the NamUs database; (2) update the online data entry format for such databases to allow states to report information to each database; (3) establish a matching grant program to assist in the reporting of missing persons and unidentified remains information to the NCIC and NamUs databases; (4) issue a report to the offices of medical examiners, offices of coroners, and federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies describing the best practices for collecting, reporting, and analyzing data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains; and (5) report to Congress on the status of the NCIC Missing and Unidentified Person File and NamUs databases. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require reports of missing children (under age 21) to NamUs databases. Allows authorized agencies to remove or override information from the NamUs and NCIC databases if such information is submitted on behalf of a public user and is deemed to be inaccurate. TITLE(S): (italics indicate a title for a portion of a bill): SHORT TITLE(S) AS INTRODUCED: Billy's Law | Help Find the Missing Act | OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED: To authorize funding for, and increase accessibility to, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, to facilitate data sharing between such system and the National Crime Information Center database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to provide incentive grants to help facilitate reporting to such systems, and for other purposes.

 

• PEACE4 THE MISSING: Voice Platform and Support Network for Families of Missing and Victims of Crime. *Command Central for the Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law)* http://peace4missing.ning.com

 

 

 

On March 31, 2011 Billy’s Law HR 1300 / SR 702 was reintroduced in the House. Orginally introduced in the 111th Congress it has now been reintroduced in the 112th Congress thus the new bill numbers, HR 1300 / SR 702.

[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

Let us know if you have written to your state Congressmen and Senators!

[Delilah]

Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint have been contacted in South Carolina!

 

[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

Perfect...thanks Delilah!

[Sara Huizenga]

.

[Cynthia Caron]

Jan,

I have email correspondence that has now begun to transpire and am arranging a conference call for the co-sponsor with my Congressman. I have included you in my email conversation with the plans. Please see your email for copies of our discussions. Hugs, Cyn

[Paloma Capanna]

Next steps.  

Attached is a telephone script and a target list for the CT and NY former co-sponsors with all telephone contact information.  Each week through Labor Day, we will be adding to this list.  The first few weeks are the previous co-sponsors who are still in Congress this session.

Every Congressional office maintains statistics on contact and subject.  We want a commitment to "support and co-sponsor."  

Let's get to work.

[Sara Huizenga]

Awesome, thanks Paloma!!!

[Sara Huizenga]

Please include a comment here as well re. contacting cosponsors and what you have done so far, including the state you're from - thanks so much everyone!!! xoxo

[John Quinn]

Shared on facebook AND twitter..LOVE ALWAYS...johnny XXXOOOXXX

[John Quinn]

Senator Charles Schumer is a co-sponcer from my NY as he was the first time..LOVE ALWAYS..johnny XXXOOOXXXX

[Libba Phillips]

Hi Maureen, Sara, Jan, anyone working on this campaign...

 

I have been wondering if it would be helpful for me to write a letter to help with these efforts with Billy's Law.  As some of you may know - I'm the founder of Outpost for Hope and our primary focus is shining the light on the 'missing, missing' and 'the kids off the grid' - these are unreported as missing persons who are usually (but not always) lost among the homeless.  Some of you might be familiar with why OFH was started, and the movie made about the search for my sister Ashley recently on Lifetime.  One of the key issues in the early years was the fact that my family and I could not get Ashley reported as missing locally or in the NCIC database.  While the made for TV movie takes some liberties with my story....it does have a pivotal scene with a law enforcement officer talking with me about Ashley not being reported and NCIC.  It occurred to me that one of the primary goals is the sharing of data between NCIC and NaMus and how important that is - and maybe, the sharing of my story and some of the eye opening research that OFH has collected in the last 12 years could be helpful to share about what happened to people who are not reported at all and how this adds to the egregious situation of unidentified persons and all the complexities involved with that.  If you want to utilize the movie 'Bringing Ashley Home' and/or any letter, endorsement by me, Outpost for Hope, whatever that I could help share in these efforts - I would be more than happy to help.  Please let me know!   I have been really busy during the last few months or I would have jumped in sooner - but seeing this post recently by Maureen got me thinking maybe there is something useful that I could offer to assist.  

 

Let me know your thoughts about how or where this information could be helpful. 

Libba 

[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

Libba,

 

Thank you!  A letter by you would greatly help, enhance and add validation that Billy's Law needs to be passed. 

 

Maureen