BILLY'S LAW

Help Find ALL of America's Missing with Billy's Law

2011-07-20T14:32:00.001-07:00

BILLY'S LAW - The Help Find the Missing Act (H.R. 1300 and S.R. 702)

Billy's Law would link two existing databases maintained by the Department of Justice: the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Department of Justice’s National Missing Person and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). It would also create a grant program to helps local law enforcement and medical examiners report missing persons and unidentified remains to NCIC, NamUs, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS).

The magnitude of children and adults missing in our country is enormously overwhelming ... if only there were a way to help ALL of them ... YOU CAN DO THAT!!!! Find out how here... http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/on-the-road-to-passing-billys

Help ALL the Missing! We're almost there - with your help Billy's Law CAN and WILL pass soon!! http://peace4missing.ning.com

Billy's Law By State - House and Senate CoSponsors Needed! http://peace4missing.ning.com/group/billyslawbystatehouseandsenatecosponsorsneeded

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

Everything You Need to Know and DO to HELP PASS BILLY'S LAW

2011-05-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

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

Note: This is the Federal Law not the Connecticut State Law! This law benfits the nation!

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

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

When one Congress ends it wipes the slate clean so all actions taken before the Congress ended in January 2011 under the 111^th Congress now need to be redone.

This includes seeking cosponsorship and signing petitions all had to be restarted when the 111^th 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.

Need Accomplished ASAP all below items:

Write an Impact Letter to be used for requesting co-sponsorship (see template and example at bottom of this blog.)
Write, phone or email your Senators and Congressmen and ask for their co-sponsorship:

-Click here for Senators (http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm)

-Click here for Congressmen (http://www.house.gov/representatives/ ) (Snail mail-signed in blue ink or phone calls are best.)

POST EVERYWHERE! Ask your friends, family and basically everyone to contact their Congressmen and Senators and request their co-sponsorship. Post the following links on all websites and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn status: http://peace4missing.ning.com
Sign and Leave Comment on NEW Petition “Tell Congress to pass "Billy's Law" to help identify the missing” http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-pass-billys-law-to-help-identify-the-missing
Send out Press Releases to your local newstations, newspapers and radio stations educating them on Billy’s Law and inviting the readers/listeners to seek co-sponsors from their Congressmen and Senators.

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.

Template for letter to Congress – IMAPCT LETER

[your name]

[your mailing address]

[date]

Re: “Billy’s Law” (H.R. 1300 & S.R. 702)

To the Members of the 112th Congress:

[1 – one sentence subject with call to action – why are you writing]

[2 – the issue]

[3 – the solution = Billy’s Law]

[4 – why this issue matters to you]

[5 – call to action: co-sponsor “Billy’s Law”]

Respectfully submitted,

*your signature, in blue ink, goes above your printed name

[print your name]

EXAMPLE of IMPACT Letter:

May 18, 2011 [INSERT TODAY’s DATE]

To: Members of the 112^th Congress:
From: Maureen Reintjes [DELETE Maureen’s name and Insert your First and Last Name here.] Victims Advocate for the Families of the Missing [Delete Victims Advocate….and Insert your title related to the missing, such as, Family of a Missing Loved One, Concerned Citizen, Law Enforcement, PI, Organization affilliation, etc.]

Re: H.R. 1300 and S.R. 702, the Help Find the Missing Act (Billy’s Law).

[Please insert your own personal information here and delete the following bolded text.] As a person who had a loved one missing for 4 years and now as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Victims Advocate Team Kansas I am asking that when this extraordinary legislation comes before you that you make a choice to stand behind the families of the missing by supporting, co-sponsoring and passing the Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law).

There are over 100,000 missing in our great country and anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 unidentified remains of people all over this country. Sad isn't it that we can't even come up with an accurate count? Those numbers by themselves should get your attention. But have you stopped to think about how many lives are forever changed when a loved one is missing? 1/2 million plus US citizens get up every morning and go to sleep every night living this nightmare, many for decades. If 1/2 million people were suffering from the flu you would sit up and take notice, wouldn't you? It would be an epidemic. These numbers are at an epidemic level that no one in this country is immune to. The government has rushed in and helped far less numbers of citizens in times of national disasters, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, fires, etc. The missing and the unidentified and the impact on their families and friends is a national disaster. This can happen to anyone's family, anyone.

Do you know how many people are missing in your state? Do you know where to turn to get ALL those numbers and see those faces? Do you know how many unidentified remains are in your state? Do your fellow state residents know where to get these numbers and view these cases? People missing and unidentified remains are a concern for public safety and homeland security. When you don’t know why a person is missing then they could have been murdered, are being exploited or something criminal happened to them or by them. When a missing person case is not solved or an unidentified person case is not solved then it is highly likely that criminals/murderers/terrorists walk among us unpunished. Doesn't it make sense to do all you can do to strengthen NamUs so the data is all housed in one clearinghouse, one repository for both the missing and the unidentified remains so that cases can be solved quicker, families given answers quicker and the public protected quicker? Doesn’t it make sense to strengthen NamUs so that Law Enforcement, Coroners, Medical Examiners, the Families of the Missing, the Media and the Public can all have access to one repository to aid in collaboration between all entities of solving these cases? Connect this disconnected system and more families of the missing will get their answers. And, for those families yet to come they will have the hope of a much quicker answer than ever before once Billy’s Law is law. You can make that happen. Please for the families of the missing and for the safety of this country please cosponsor HR 1300 / SR 702, Billy's Law.

Thank you for your time and your service to our country.

[Your signature in blue ink, here.]

Maureen Reintjes [Insert your First and Last Name here, delete Maureen’s name.]

[Insert your Street Address – Mandatory for validation.]

[Insert your City, State Zip Code – Mandatory for validation.]

[Insert your phone number – optional.]

[Insert your email address – optional.]

Victim's Advocate Team Kansas NamUs Academy Nov. 2010 http://www.namus.gov
Admin: Peace4 the Missing: http://peace4missing.ning.com
Fox Valley Technical College Responding to Missing and Unidentified Persons National Training Conference - Scholarship Recipient (Feb 2011): http://www.fvtc.edu/missing
Project Jason Keys to Healing Retreat Attendee 2009 and 2010 http://www.projectjason.org

The bulleted points above are my signature tag line. It helps to show who you are affilated with. For families of the missing you might consider including info such as your missing loved ones name and a link to his/her NamUs file. And, include any valid non profit missing person organizations you are a part of or volunteer for. [DELETE the bulleted text and Insert your own info.]

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

Further Strengthen and Utilize NamUs by Supporting Billy's Law Now

2011-05-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the many supporters helping spread the word about NamUs - legislative efforts are currently underway to further strengthen and utilize the NamUs system through Billy's Law, The Help Find the Missing Act ...

We finally have the opportunity to somewhat lessen the horror so many families with missing loved ones are forced to endure ... let's not let it pass us by -

Help Pass Billy's Law today!! http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/on-the-road-to-passing-billys. ‎-

Billy's Law online petition - http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-pass-billys-law-to-help-identify-the-missing

Find Out How To Help Pass Billy's Law (The Help Find the Missing Act) Here!

2011-05-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

Little actions DO make a BIG difference -

Have you signed the petition for Billy's Law (The Help Find the Missing Act) yet?

If not, please do so now here ... http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-pass-billys-law-to-help-identify-the-missing

OVERVIEW

"Billy's Law" sits in two pieces in Congress: H.R. 1300 and S.R. 702. And that's how our nation's databases sit, disconnected, in the forms of the Department of Justice "NaMUs" database and the FBI's "Missing Persons Database." Pass the Bills into law and you'll connect the databases to help find those who have gone missing and those who are "unidentified" remains.

Billy's Law passed the House last term in 2010, but never left the Senate Judiciary Committee. This legislation was recently reintroduced.

Our goal is to bring the voice of The People to The Hill on behalf of the missing.

We bring this Petition on behalf of our classmate and friend, George DeLany, Jr. He disappeared from Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) on March 12, 2011 and was found on April 17, 2011, sadly, to have died. We had to wait less than 24-hours for DNA testing to confirm that it was George who had been found.

Many families have been waiting for years for news of their loved ones. And many people who have died, have done so without identification and await their final journey home.

Billy's Law is named in honor of Billy Smolinski, Jr., who went missing more than six years ago, and has yet to be found.

Won't you lend your name to this worthy cause? Put the best of the technology that our nation has to offer to work for those who are missing.

Thank you. James, Lelah, D.J., Alex, Amber, Ed, Matt, Ben, Taryn, Michael, Daniel, Jonathan, and Paloma

On Facebook at "Students Finding George DeLany"

[Read Less]

Read Petition Letter

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BILLY'S LAW AND NAMUS HERE - http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/categories/namusgov-billys-lawhr-1300/listForCategory

Billy's Law at Michigan's Missing Persons Day

2011-05-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

What I walked away from Michigan's (very first) Missing Persons Day with

This past Saturday, May 7th, 2011, I (Sara Huizenga) on behalf of Peace4 the Missing and Billy's Law attended and held an information booth at Michigan's (VERY FIRST) Missing Persons Day.

It was a day of many mixed emotions - which I guess ironically makes sense at any missing persons event in general.

Perhaps I can help you gain a bit of perspective on what I mean by my typed sentence directly above here by sharing some of the days comments from Families of Missing Loved Ones below ....

We just don't know what to do.

One minute we think it might be okay, but the next moment we're not even sure we can even make it through to seeing the next second, it hurts so bad.

I can't believe I've endured having a missing loved one this long, I never thought I'd be able to last as long as I have.

Thank you for displaying their picture (NamUs Missing Person Poster) - you have no idea as to how much that means to us - it is everything!

People who give us hope help us go on, we couldn't do it without them and the hope they offer.

I will never give up on them - I'll never stop looking.

You have no idea how much this day means to us, we've traveled from (insert many States even COUNTRIES away) just to be here ... wouldn't have missed it for the world.

NamUs has finally given us some hope back! We thought we'd lost it all for good shortly before finding out about it ... We MUST pass Billy's Law and make it stronger!

I walked away from this event even more convinced of two things in particular ...

1. I painfully have no magic words to take away this intensely horrific of a pain that families of the missing are forced to endure - every second of every day.

2. Procedures, legislation and action such as NamUs, Billy's Law, Resourceful Law Enforcement, Kelsey's Law, etc. are SO NEEDED - and so worth fighting for ... we must work together to ensure these full of hope for the missing things.

Here's how ... CLICK TO HELP CREATE MUCH NEEDED CHANGE ... let's get going on here and now.

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

Billy's Law Images - Please Use and Share

2011-05-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

Find more photos like this on PEACE4 THE MISSING

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

Important Message Billy's Law HR 1300: Co-Sponsors Needed in House and Senate

2011-05-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

BILLY'S LAW - HR 1300 & SR 702

On March 2011 Billy's Law was introduced into the House Of Representatives as most of you know the law was hung up in the Senate last year. All Bills have to be introduced again if not passed by the end of the year and this is where we are at now. What this means is we are back to square one and the Bill has to go through the same political process as last year meaning we need Cosponsors. There is a change this time on how we are going to handle getting cosponsors which will be explained.

If you look at the top of the page you will see HR 1300 & SR 702, this is the change I was talking about HR 1300 is the Bill number in the House of Representatives and SR 702 is the Bill number in the US Senate We will be getting cosponsor from both at the same time.

Listed below I will give links on how to find and write to your Congressman in the House of Rep and your US Senators ( remember 2 Senators per state ).

First of all a very special Thank you to Congressman Chris Murphy and Ted Poe for sponsoring this Bill and once again making it bipartisan.

This is the link to find your Congressman https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

NOTE: Remember to write your Congressman and Senators even if they Cosponsored this Bill last year.

Now on the Senate side Ct. Senator Joe Lieberman and Ct. Senator Richard Blumenthal will also be sponsoring this Bill.

This is the Link to U.S. Senators http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

We all know how important this Bill is these letters and emails MUST be written this Bill will pick up momentum and once it does we have to be ready with our voices even stronger then before. If you are a family with a missing loved one please share your story in your letters.

This is the first post on are call to action I'm sure there will be many more before we are done if there are any questions please feel free to ask and we will get back with answers asap. Also as before when Congressman and Senators cosponsor this Bill they will be listed.

Here also is a link to a petition for Billy's Law http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-pass-billys-law-to...

This Bill will become law but there is a lot of work to do so let's do it.

http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/important-message-billys-law

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

Discussion Forum - NamUs.Gov/Billy's Law

2011-05-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Peace4 the Missing's NamUs.Gov & Billy's Law/HR 1300 Forum Discussions Area

http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/categories/namusgov-billys-lawhr-1300/listForCategory

Petition Congress to Pass "Billy's Law" to Help Find The Missing

2011-05-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

SIGN THIS PETITION

Billy's Law (H.R. 1300 & S.R. 702)

PETITIONING

The President of the United States

+ 2 others

STARTED BY

Paloma Capanna

Penfield, NY

OVERVIEW

"Billy's Law" sits in two pieces in Congress: H.R. 1300 and S.R. 702. And that's how our nation's databases sit, disconnected, in the forms of the Department of Justice "NaMUs" database and the FBI's "Missing Persons Database." Pass the Bills into law and you'll connect the databases to help find those who have gone missing and those who are "unidentified" remains.

Billy's Law passed the House last term in 2010, but never left the Senate Judiciary Committee. This legislation was recently reintroduced.

Our goal is to bring the voice of The People to The Hill on behalf of the missing.

We bring this Petition on behalf of our classmate and friend, George DeLany, Jr. He disappeared from Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) on March 12, 2011 and was found on April 17, 2011, sadly, to have died. We had to wait less than 24-hours for DNA testing to confirm that it was George who had been found.

Many families have been waiting for years for news of their loved ones. And many people who have died, have done so without identification and await their final journey home.

Billy's Law is named in honor of Billy Smolinski, Jr., who went missing five years ago, and has yet to be found.

Won't you lend your name to this worthy cause? Put the best of the technology that our nation has to offer to work for those who are missing.

Thank you. James, Lelah, D.J., Alex, Amber, Ed, Matt, Ben, Taryn, Michael, Daniel, Jonathan, and Paloma

PETITION LETTER

Billy's Law (H.R. 1300 & S.R. 702)

Greetings,

This letter is a call to action to the House, Senate, and President to enact "Billy's Law" (H.R. 1300 & S.R. 702).

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated in 2007 that more than 40,000 human remains were unidentified and being held in Coroner's Offices nationwide. This amounts to a national tragedy for the missing, their families, and friends.

All available technology should be brought together to assist in the search for the missing, including the Department of Justice "NaMUs" database and the FBI's NCIC database.

Please take action today to advance, sign, and implement this important legislation.

[Your name]

Please click on the following link now to sign and support this urgent and most vital petition ... http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-pass-billys-law-to-help-find-the-missing-2

RIT Friends of George DeLany Successfully Lobby Senator Schumer's Support of Billy's Law

2011-04-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

We at Peace4 the Missing along with the family of Billy Smolinski extend our deeply heartfelt gratitude towards George Delaney, whose life has propelled so many others to pick up this cause and successfully encourage Senator Schumer to support Billy's Law. We are so very humbled and moved by all of you.

Schumer Announces Support For "Billy's Law"

By WKBW News, April 25, 2011 Updated Apr 25, 2011 at 2:57 PM EDT

WASHINGTON, DC (release) Monday, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer announced his support for legislation called "Billy's Law," also known as Help Find the Missing Act, to close loopholes in our national missing persons systems.

Schumer has sponsored this legislation in the past, and his co-sponsorship this Congress comes in the wake of the recent death of George Delaney, a Rochester Institute of Technology student. When George Delany went missing on March 12th, RIT faculty and students joined with law enforcement and the community to search for him. http://www.eveningtribune.com/features/x1798440022/Rochester-Instit...

This week they wrote to Senator Schumer in support of Billy’s Law, after experiencing firsthand the gaps in our national missing person response system. Schumer states that the enactment of Billy’s Law will provide law enforcement officials with the tools and resources it needs to better conduct the search for missing adults.

“George Delany’s death is a tragedy for Rochester and all of New York,” said Schumer. “And, what is even more difficult to believe are the loopholes in our national missing persons system. Just as we provide law enforcement with tools like the Amber alert and access to missing person databases when children are missing, we should not tolerate delays and lapses in information when people over the age of 18, like George Delany, are missing. Billy’s Law would provide the critical tools and alerts to law enforcement officials that are essential in the search of missing adults. What’s more, Billy’s Law seeks to bring our national missing persons databases into the 21st century, creating a central resource for officials and families that are so desperately trying to locate their loved ones.”

Students Finding George DeLany

RIT professor Paloma Capanna, along with a dozen RIT students who were personally involved in the search for George wrote to Senator Schumer in support of this legislation stating, “Our support for this [legislation] comes from our personal experience with our classmate and friend, George Delany. At least two college students go missing every week. And, nationwide, more than 20,000 persons are reported missing each year. The federal government should intervene to ensure that any barriers to participation in and access to all available databases are eliminated, including supplements for any fees that may be prohibitive within county budgets.”

Billy’s Law would authorize the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which was created in July 2007 by the Department of Justice (DOJ), to provide a missing persons/unidentified database that the public could access and contribute to. The law would connect NamUs with the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in order to create more comprehensive missing persons and unidentified remains databases and streamlining the reporting process for local law enforcement. Billy’s Law would expand current law by requiring missing children be reported to NamUs in addition to NCIC, and would create a grant program to help states, local law enforcement and medical examiners report missing persons and unidentified remains to NCIC, NamUs, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS). And, finally Billy’s Law requires the DOJ issue guidelines and best practices on handling missing persons and unidentified remains cases in order to empower law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners to help find the missing.

Billy’s Law is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy’s family quickly learned that while federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, there are no such requirements for adults – or unidentified bodies. Compounding this problem is the fact that local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners, often don’t have the resources or training to voluntarily report these cases. Finally, even when missing adults and remains are reported, the wide-range of unconnected federal, state, local, and non-profit databases to help match the missing with unidentified bodies, makes finding a match an often insurmountable challenge.

Continue reading: http://www.wkbw.com/home/Schumer-Announces-Support-For-Billys-Law-1...

Who is Billy? http://justice4billy.com/
http://helpfindthemissingact.blogspot.com

To find out more about how NamUs.gov and Billy's Law greatly benefits families of the missing please go to the following link ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/categories/namusgov-billys-lawh...

Peace4 the Missing
A voice platform and support network for those with missing loved ones and victims of crime
http://peace4missing.ning. com/
Peace4's Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/pa ges/Peace4-the-Missing/114 101641947

RIT Honors George DeLany By Lobbying For Billy's Law

2011-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Rochester Institute of Technology students, faculty remember DeLany

Adjunct R.I.T. faculty member Paloma Capanna reads a letter from the DeLany family at the memorial service for George DeLany Tuesday.

By Andrew Poole

The Evening Tribune

Posted Apr 20, 2011 @ 01:59 PM

“We will find you — don’t lose hope.”

“I personally don’t know you, but please come back soon.”

“Strangers are praying — come home.”

Those pleas are just three of hundreds written on a banner for George DeLany, the previously missing Rochester Institute of Technology student whose remains were discovered Sunday night in a shallow indentation near the Wayland-Cohocton town line.

DeLany was last seen March 12, the day before his car was found in the Town of Wayland. State police in vain led massive search efforts, but it was a landowner who found DeLany in a previously unsearched area, two-to-three miles from the missing student’s vehicle.

Tuesday evening a crowd of approximately 75 gathered at the Schmitt Interfaith Center for a memorial service on the R.I.T. campus to remember their friend, classmate, and student.

“For those of you that knew George, I’m awfully sorry for your loss. For those of you that didn’t know George, I’m sorry for your loss, that you didn’t have a chance to get to know him,” said Mary-Beth Cooper, senior vice president for Student Affairs at R.I.T.

Adjunct faculty member Paloma Capanna, who was active in the “Students Finding George DeLany” organization publicizing his disappearance, read a letter from the DeLany family. The family wasn’t in attendance.

The letter summed up DeLany as a “nice person” who wanted to be known as a “tough guy,” despite it being against his nature.

“We are all a bit shy, and George inherited that trait,” said the letter. “That was tough to deal with as he grew older. Once he became involved with people, he could open up, and show the young man we loved so much.”

Much of the conversation at the memorial service centered on the community that developed during DeLany’s disappearance.

“Over the past month, our group (Students Finding George DeLany), with everyone here and in the community, has experienced something special, and that’s because of George,” said R.I.T. student James Brigden. “Not only has he built a sense of community that people work forever to try to build, he’s built it strong ... People work a lifetime to try to build a sense of community, and George did it in a very small amount of time.”

R.I.T. President Bill Destler, speaking before Brigden, also emphasized the community that had developed, and needed to continue.

“I hope all of us will dedicate ourselves to that basic idea, that we are all a family. Those of us that need help, need to know that we can help them,” said Destler. “We don’t know, we may never know, exactly what happened to George. But I think we do know that we have a responsibility to try to minimize these kinds of tragedies.

“If I’m proud of anything, I’m proud of the fact that this community kept its vigil going, both in person here on campus and on social networks ... I’m proud we didn’t give up hope until the very last.”

The discovery of DeLany’s remains would seem to bring closure, but Capanna and Brigden said they wouldn’t step back from the incident that has enveloped them in the past month. Capanna said she and the students will lobby to get Billy’s Law, legislation previously rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, back to the Senate.

The law would create stronger sharing of information between missing persons databases and provide grants to municipalities and states to share information, according to an article from the Los Angeles Times.

Some of the details of the case — such as why DeLany was in Wayland, or the official cause of death — aren’t known. To Brigden, whatever details still unknown are irrelevant.

“We’re at the point where we have an answer for George’s family. The details we don’t know, and there aren’t many, aren’t as important to the students,” he said.

Others, though, such as sophomore D.J. Abele, are still curious as to what happened to their classmate.

“I’m torn. Part of me wants to know what happened. I don’t want more horrible news. I don’t,” he said.

Source: http://www.eveningtribune.com/features/x1798440022/Rochester-Institute-of-Technology-students-faculty-remember-DeLany

Please Voice Your Support of NamUs.gov and Billy's Law for The Families of the Missing

2011-01-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

The following was written by Billy's Mother, Jan Smolinski ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/profiles/blogs/your-voice-counts-for-missing/edit

If anyone has watched the journey our family has taken to try and find a real person, disappeared, ignored by the authorities as a walk away, hurtful remarks made, evidence lost, entries wrong and incomplete, six years later and still the enormous up hill push just to bring my son home.

Please Help Find Our Missing Loved Ones
We are just a small example of the thousands of families who have to face the reality of a similar nightmare/silent crisis that faces our nation today.

Education is the key~~there is a centralized database that will help connect the dots possibly make matches or bring a loved one home called NamUs.

Imagine a person you love so dearly, a child perhaps (no matter the age they are always your child) go missing with very little attention ~ to then finally receive HOPE ... who would not stand up and say WAIT this is what we have been waiting for! ?? Perhaps a solution?

In our state of Connecticut, like most states, Billy has been missing for six years, but yet the state police ~ public safety ~ have not and will not put Billy as a missing person on their database because they say he is not their case. We questioned and were told Billy's case belongs in the lead agency database, ok, but the computers don't connect, so it will not work.

Our country is in desperate need of a new system, the disjointed, confusing process and tools currently available prior to the creation of NamUs were not working! And unfortunately, until more agencies are required to utilize NamUs (part of what Billy's Law would initiate) this broken, ineffective method will continue.

Now for the first time ever a centralized database is available and incentives are needed to help train law enforcement and medical examiners/coroners how to enter the information and take DNA samples, put into the proper databases, results that are much needed, a resolution for the family of a missing loved one may be possible, it is proven to have worked already.

A missing person DOES NOT have to be deceased for this to work.

Check your local or state clearinghouses, look at the disaster of information entered ... see for yourself the tangled web of missing pieces, entries here there and everywhere and dead ends ... it doesn't make sense.

You decide ... is this the kind of system you'd want to put the majority of your hopes for finding your missing loved one into??

If you say I don't have to worry about this it won't happen to my family, think again ~ NO ONE IS EXEMPT!!

It is time to wake up!

It is time to get the ball rolling and support the best database to date.

If law enforcement is here to serve and protect then lets educate them how to help serve and protect. It is not their fault if they are not trained, incentives are needed to help in the process.

It is 2010, this is why we in this country need S3019 ~ Help Find the Missing Act ~ Billy's Law.

Billy's Law (The Help Find the Missing Act) is a proposed bill that was created in order to strengthen and increase utilization of our National Missing Persons Database (NamUs.Gov)

More info can be found on PEACE4 THE MISSING
Voice Platform and Support Network for Families of Missing and Victims of Crime
http://peace4missing.ning.com/

Peace4 Page on Facebook ... http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peace4-the-Missing/114101641947

NamUs.gov
http://namus.gov/

Billy's Law
http://helpfindthemissingact.blogspot.com/
http://justice4billy.com/

THIS is the story of Billy (Billy's Law) Smolinski

2011-01-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Watch the ENTIRE EPISODE of Billy Smolinski's missing persons case story that was featured as an episode on Investigation Discovery right here ...

Billy is the Missing Son of our Peace4, Jan Smolinski - Jan created Billy's Law - the act to HELP FIND THE MISSING ... to help protect other families from ever having to endure many of the unnecessary, horror their family endured while seeking for their missing son.

http://helpfindthemissingact.blogspot.com

This is not a closed case - the Smolinski family is still actively seeking justice for Billy ... do you know something? Can you help spread the word? http://justice4billy.com

Peace4 the Missing
http://peace4missing.ning.com

Click on image above to go to the NamUs.gov profile of William 'Billy' Smolinski ...

Billy Smolinski on Investigation Discovery, part 1/4
http://peace4missing.ning.com/video/billy-smolinski-on

Billy Smolinski on Investigation Discovery, part 2/4
http://peace4missing.ning.com/video/billy-smolinski-on-1

Billy Smolinski on Investigation Discovery, part 3/4
http://peace4missing.ning.com/video/billy-smolinski-on-2

Billy Smolinski on Investigation Discovery, part 4/4
http://peace4missing.ning.com/video/billy-smolinski-on-3

THANK YOU, Senator Joseph Lieberman, for having a HEART for the Missing!

2010-12-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU, Senator Joseph Lieberman, for having a HEART for the Missing ... From Peace4 the Missing's Families of Missing Loved Ones ...

LIEBERMAN INTRODUCES BILL TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF MISSING ADULTS

02.23.10

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) introduced legislation to assist the families of missing adults. The measure, called the Help Find the Missing Act, or Billy’s Law (H.R. 3695), is named for Waterbury-resident Billy Smolinski Jr., who disappeared from his home on August 24, 2004. The legislation will improve data-sharing about missing people; assist law enforcement in advancing their efforts to compile and track missing persons data; and provide funding to improve, monitor and maintain that data.

Senator Lieberman issued the following statement:

“As a parent, my heart goes out to every family that has experienced the disappearance of a loved one. Each year, tens of thousands of Americans go missing, causing heartbreak and loss for people across the country. Passing Billy’s Law will offer families of missing adults confidence that we are doing everything we can to locate their loved ones. I thank Jan and Bill Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut for their courage and perseverance as they continue the search for their son, Billy Smolinski, Jr., who disappeared without a trace on August 24, 2004. I am grateful for the support that my colleagues Senator Schumer, Gillibrand, and Merkley have offered for this legislation and remain committed to doing everything possible in the United States Senate to assist families of missing adults.”

The Man behind the Bill - Missing Billy Smolinski - http://justice4billy.com

Billy's Mom, Who ALWAYS HOPES! - Jan Smolinski

-----------------------------------------------------

Posted on Peace4 the Missing

http://peace4missing.ning.com

Support The Help The Missing Act a.k.a. Billy’s Law (S.3019)

Billy Smolinski, the Missing Son who Inspired the Creation of Billy's Law

2010-11-29T09:36:00.000-08:00

We at Peace4 the Missing are so proud to have Billy's Mom, Jan Smolinski as a part of this place ... and even more so forever grateful to Billy and his family for the creation of Billy's Law.

"Uncertainty is a cancer that crushes the spirit of loved ones left behind. With this bill, we have an opportunity to make changes nationwide and gives families like mine hope for a better, more certain tomorrow," said (Jan) Smolinski.

Justice for Billy ~ Billy's Guiding Light of Hope ~ Visit Billy Smolinski's Site Now to Find Out More About This Amazing Man and the Family Who Misses Him ...

Every year tens of thousands of Americans go missing, never to be seen by their loved ones again. At the same time, there are also an estimated 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains that are being held or disposed of across the country, and no organized system to match cases and remains. Billy's family has experienced many obstacles in searching for their missing son, including disconnected federal databases and a systematic reluctance to prioritize missing adult cases.

"Billy's Law," introduced by Murphy and Poe last year, empowers families and loved ones of the missing to find justice by helping to secure funding for the only federal missing persons and unidentified remains database that can be cross-searched, accessed and added to by the public - the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). This database enables the loved ones of the missing to spend countless hours searching for a match and add invaluable information to the case profile that only they know.

The legislation helps to streamline the reporting process for law enforcement and medical examiners by connecting two major federal missing persons and unidentified remains databases- the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the NamUs. Connecting these databases makes them more comprehensive and more likely to lead to a missing person or unidentified remains match.

Billy's Law also creates an incentive grants program to coroners, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to help facilitate the reporting of missing persons and unidentified remains to the federal databases. Grants can also be used for training programs on how to correctly use the databases and best handle these cases.

Billy's Law builds upon Connecticut's 2007 Law Enforcement and Missing Persons law as it also calls for the issuance of broad recommendations for standards and procedures for law enforcement to follow in dealing with missing persons and unidentified remains.

"The Smolinskis story is tragic, but this family's pursuit of justice, and desire to change the system for the better, is nothing less than heroic. I thank Jan for her courage to fight the system and change it for others across the nation," said Murphy.

http://www.chrismurphy.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=393&Itemid=55

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BILLY'S LAW AT PEACE4 THE MISSING - http://peace4missing.ning.com

NamUs.gov WITH Billy's Law: Stronger Together - A Perfect Match

2010-11-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

Billy's Law (The Help Find the Missing Act) is a proposed bill that was created in order to strengthen and increase utilization of our National Missing Persons Database (NamUs.Gov)

S. 3019 (more commonly known as Billy's Law) would authorize funding for, and increase accessibility to, (NamUs.Gov) 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.

In order to improve the current situation of how all Missing Persons cases are handled within the United States it is of ESSENTIAL importance that we all actively work together to ensure the passage of Billy's Law

... please do so now by clicking on the link below and taking action!
http://peace4missing.ning.com/profiles/blogs/proposed-bill-billys-law

Additional details regarding are updated frequently and can be found on Peace4 the Missing ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/

Billy's Mom, Jan Smolinski, An Eagle Rare Life Award 2011 Nominee

2010-11-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

VOTE for Jan Smolinski at eaglerarelife.com/node/105 Mom of missing Billy Smolinski and the force behind Billy's Law now in the Senate - S.3019

Vote Daily For Jan Smolinski, An Eagle Rare Life!

Jan states: "Should my story be chosen as the Rare Life winner, I hope to share the award with the community most effected. There are many John and Jane Does buried in Potter's Fields throughout the nation. Often the cost of the exhumation itself is the single obstacle between these poor souls and the DNA sampling that will help them to be returned to their family."

** BILLY'S LAW ** The Help Find the Missing Act

Find Out More Here About Billy's Law and NamUs!

Actively Aware: Jan Smolinski, Nominee of the Eagle Rare Life Award 2011

Peace4 the Missing

A Voice Platform and Support Network for Families with Missing Loved Ones

http://peace4missing.ning.com

Maureen's letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Billy's Law S.3019 - PEACE4 THE MISSING

2010-09-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Maureen's letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Billy's Law S.3019 - PEACE4 THE MISSING

What is Billy's Law and NamUs.Gov?

2010-08-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

(PowerPoint Presentation below from NamUs Academy Team Michigan - *relevant to the Nation*)

NamUs.Gov
http://namus.gov

Billy's Law
http://helpfindthemissingact.blogspot.com
http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/categories/namusgov-billys-lawhr-3695/listForCategory

leave no stone unturned

2010-08-02T11:15:00.001-07:00

A must read for all Family Members of the Missing ...

TRIPLE CHECK your family members NamUs profile NOW!

Make certain that steps have been taken to include all DNA/Dental info on their NamUs profile!

You deserve answers - this MUST be done in order to help you receive them.

Please click the link below to find out more and how to do so.

http://peace4missing.ning.com/profiles/blogs/missing-persons-family

If you are FOR the Missing - you are FOR NamUs.Gov and if you are for NamUs.Gov - you are FOR Billy's Law - they all go hand in hand - Support them by choosing today to make a huge, positive difference in the lives of many.

3 Simple Steps to Help Find the Missing - Billy's Law

http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/3-simple-steps-to-help-find

1. Copy/Paste this letter located HERE

2. Go HERE to find contact info for Senators on the United States Judicial Committee

3. Fill out the form on each of their individual websites (copy/paste the letter in the remarks area) and click send ...

Make History - Participate in the passing of Billy's Law

2010-07-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

The following video is a simple version of the revolutionary action that is currently going on regarding Billy's Law, The Help Find the Missing Act ...

We are currently at status point = (S3019) Senate Judiciary Committee.

At this time (especially now through August 9th) it is of essential importance that all of us contact each member on the Committee and encourage them to co-sponsor Billy's Law.

Here's how to go about that in 3 simple and very easy steps ...
1. Copy/Paste this letter located HERE
2. Go HERE to find contact info for Senators on the United States Judicial Committee
3. Fill out the form on each of their individual websites (copy/paste the letter in the remarks area) and click send ...

What is S3019, Billy's Law?

S. 3019 would authorize funding for, and increase accessibility to, (NamUs.Gov) 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.

The Forgotten PSA on NamUs.Gov

2010-07-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

Facebook Challenge ~ Change Your Profile Pic in Support of Billy's Law TODAY!

2010-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Billy's Law profile pic options attached ... change yours on Facebook in support of Billy's Law ... spread awareness and let it be known that You actively support the Help Find the Missing Act!

But don't stop there! ... Next, challenge others as well to show their Billy's Law support and actively participate in the 3 Simple Steps to Save Billy's Law ...

1. Copy/Paste this letter located HERE
2. Go HERE to find contact info for Senators on the United States Judicial Committee
3. Fill out the form on each of their individual websites (copy/paste the letter in the remarks area) and click send ...

It truly does take a Village ... and that Village is where You Live!

Help Save Billy's Law!

2010-07-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to Help Save Billy's Law Now!

1. Copy/Paste this letter located HERE
2. Go HERE to find contact info for Senators on the United States Judicial Committee
3. Fill out the form on each of their individual websites (copy/paste the letter in the remarks area) and click send ...

Why Do We Need Billy's Law?

2010-07-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

How could anyone oppose an opportunity to find a missing loved one?
Finally a centralized database ... all information available about the missing person in one central place ... like one stop shopping entered into a database ~ it is like having a million eyes watching. By supporting ... The Help find the Missing Act ... Billy's Law (if it becomes law) will help expedite the education and introduction (in some cases) into the Law Enforcement & Medical Examiners because it offers incentives to educate law enforcement in this country.

If someone you love so dearly goes missing you want the solution yesterday not tomorrow.
Families get so frustated law enforcement is not doing enough, well here is the wake up call, an opportunity to become more CSI like you see on tv. A person can still be alive and the NamUs database can still be utilized to help bring them home.

(by Jan Smolinski, Billy's Mom)

3 Simple Steps to Help Find the Missing - Billy's Lawhttp://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/3-simple-steps-to-help-find

If you're for the Missing, You're for Billy's Law

2010-07-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

We have within our ability the opportunity to pass a LAW that will have a revolutionary positive impact upon the lives of all Missing Persons, their Loved Ones and all those at all involved and/or potentially involved (which is everyone on the planet, btw - ;) with this issue.

The truth is ... EVERYTHING else that you could do, are doing and/or may someday accomplish for ANY missing person within the United States of America directly hinges upon and would be significantly improved by passage of The Help Find the Missing Act (ie. Billy's Law) ...

Time is URGENT, we ALL must contribute to, spread awareness of and spend some of our time dedicated towards THIS issue ... NOW is the time to put it on the forefront of your "To Do's" and MAKE IT HAPPEN ... Tomorrow WILL BE too late ... There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for anyone with a passion and heart for the missing to not do so ...

Tell the United States Judiciary Committee Senators to pass Billy's Law (S3019) NOW! ~ Sample Letter Here!

Okay so ... how do we do this?

It's simple ... honestly ... SIMPLE!

Here's the plan ...

1. Copy/Paste this letter located HERE
2. Go HERE to find contact info for Senators on the United States Judicial Committee
3. Fill out the form on each of their individual websites (copy/paste the letter in the remarks area) and click send ...

That's it ...

Honestly, 3 simple steps and you've changed the world ... just think of how well you'll sleep tonight and feel in general after doing so.

Who wouldn't want to be a part of enriching the future of America and positively impacting our countries history.

Well, here's your chance to do so ... don't miss out ... ACT Now.

And thank you for doing so ... xoxo

Please join us at Peace4 the Missing
Missing Persons Awareness and Support Network
http://peace4missing.ning.com

Your Voice Counts for Missing Persons Change!

2010-07-09T08:46:00.001-07:00

Tell the United States Senators to pass Billy's Law (S3019) NOW! ~ Sample Letter Here!

Please take just one short moment of your time to urge your senators to support and strengthen the Help Find the Missing Act ~ (S3019) Billy's Law. It is up to us to make our voices heard — for the dignity and sanctity of each missing loved one and nameless human life!

The following was written by Billy's Mother, Jan Smolinski ...

If anyone has watched the journey our family has taken to try and find a real person, disappeared, ignored by the authorities as a walk away, hurtful remarks made, evidence lost, entries wrong and incomplete, six years later and still the enormous up hill push just to bring my son home.

Please Help Find Our Missing Loved Ones

We are just a small example of the thousands of families who have to face the reality of a similar nightmare/silent crisis that faces our nation today.

Education is the key~~there is a centralized database that will help connect the dots possibly make matches or bring a loved one home called NamUs.

Imagine a person you love so dearly, a child perhaps (no matter the age they are always your child) go missing with very little attention ~ to then finally receive HOPE ... who would not stand up and say WAIT this is what we have been waiting for! ?? Perhaps a solution?

In our state of Connecticut, like most states, Billy has been missing for six years, but yet the state police ~ public safety ~ have not and will not put Billy as a missing person on their database because they say he is not their case. We questioned and were told Billy's case belongs in the lead agency database, ok, but the computers don't connect, so it will not work.

Our country is in desperate need of a new system, the disjointed, confusing process and tools currently available prior to the creation of NamUs were not working! And unfortunately, until more agencies are required to utilize NamUs (part of what Billy's Law would initiate) this broken, ineffective method will continue.

Now for the first time ever a centralized database is available and incentives are needed to help train law enforcement and medical examiners/coroners how to enter the information and take DNA samples, put into the proper databases, results that are much needed, a resolution for the family of a missing loved one may be possible, it is proven to have worked already.

A missing person DOES NOT have to be deceased for this to work.

Check your local or state clearinghouses, look at the disaster of information entered ... see for yourself the tangled web of missing pieces, entries here there and everywhere and dead ends ... it doesn't make sense.

You decide ... is this the kind of system you'd want to put the majority of your hopes for finding your missing loved one into??

If you say I don't have to worry about this it won't happen to my family, think again ~ NO ONE IS EXEMPT!!

It is time to wake up!

It is time to get the ball rolling and support the best database to date.

If law enforcement is here to serve and protect then lets educate them how to help serve and protect. It is not their fault if they are not trained, incentives are needed to help in the process.

It is 2010, this is why we in this country need S3019 ~ Help Find the Missing Act ~ Billy's Law.

Email each member on the Judiciary committee, ask each Senator to co sponsor the bill.

If it happened to one of theirs they would certainly want the best way to help achieve answers.

How to make your voice count ...

A sample letter/email for Senators that you can use is located at the following link ...

http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/sample-letter-to-senators-for

Contact page for United States Judiciary Committee Senators ...
http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/members.cfm

Additional details can be found by clicking on the following link ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/help-find-the-missing

Please join us at Peace4 the Missing

Missing Persons Awareness and Support Network

http://peace4missing.ning.com

Speak Out and Speak Up - Why do you support NamUs/Billy's Law?

2010-07-08T14:36:00.001-07:00

Please take a moment to share why you support Billy's Law at link below ...
http://peace4missing.ning.com/profiles/blogs/speak-out-and-speak-up...

In addition, please don't forget that EMAILS to Judiciary Committee Members via their web pages need to go out ASAP! It is very important for us all to fill their inboxes with support for Billy's Law ~ The Help Find the Missing Act! http://ning.it/bGZfJK

**There are two U.S senators per state and you DO NOT need to be a resident of the state to email the Senator!**

The Action Behind Billy's Law - NamUs.Gov

2010-07-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Help Find The Missing Act ~ Billy's Law:
We All Must Act Now - Please do your part by sending out your EMAILS to Judiciary Committee Members via their web pages ASAP! http://ning.it/bGZfJK

**There are two U.S senators per state and you DO NOT need to be a resident of the state to email the Senator!**

Join the Billy's Law Campaign for much needed Senate Judiciary Co Sponsors!

2010-07-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

We All Must Act Now - Send an EMAIL to Judiciary Committee Members on their website!

The way the bill is taking its course has changed. Instead of expediting it through the system it will be going through the normal process. Right now there are nineteen Judiciary members one of them happens to be Senator Coburn so asking him to co sponsor is great. I wish he would reconsider how important the bill is for present and future families.

There are eighteen other members, one is a co sponsor already from New York, the rest need to be contacted and asked to co sponsor. If you could include a few lines about the disappearance of your missing loved one it would help.

A list of members and contact numbers are provided. If you ARE a state resident of one of the nineteen co sponsors a phone call and/or email from your Senator's contact information on their site will be acceptable please include if possible a few lines about your personal story if applicable.

July 4-11 there will be a recess and most Senators will be traveling to their home state. At this time they will be making appearances and face to face would be the best to ask for co sponsorship of the bill. They need to know there is support for this explaining your story and how it has affected your life will add to the need for a bill such as Help Find the Missing Act. If the state you live in includes one of the nineteen Senator Judiciary members, by going onto their web site, a list of places where they will be appearing will be provided.

Click on the blue line http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/members.cfm
and the Judiciary member names will appear.

Please click link below for additional details regarding ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/help-find-the-missing?xg_source=activity

Videos on The Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law, HR3695) ACT NOW, PART 1 and 2

2010-07-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

The way the bill is taking its course has changed. Instead of expediting it through the system it will be going through the normal process.

Which means that ... We All Must Act Now! - Please do send an EMAIL to Judiciary Committee Members on their websites!
http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/members.cfm

Please click link below for additional details regarding ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/help-find-the-missing

Thank You Senator Lieberman for truly Believing in Billy's Law

2010-03-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Parents of Missing Man Look to Lieberman for Help

By KATHLEEN HARRINGTON

Updated 2:00 PM EDT, Mon, Mar 29, 2010

The parents of a missing Waterbury man are looking for help from U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman to pass a bill to help find missing adults.

"Billy's Law," named after Billy Smolinski, also known as"Help Find The Missing Act," calls for more resources to identify remains. His parents, Janice and William Smolinskiof Chester, met with Lieberman and Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura on Monday.

Last month, the House passed the bill and it was introduced into the Senate. It would set aside more funding and make other changes to help police nationwide share data more easily to help locate missing adults.

Billy Smolinski was 31 when he disappeared in August 2004 and his family has conducted exhaustive searches for the Waterbury man.

The Smolinskis said that during their search for their son, they've discovered systematic problems in how missing persons cases are handled.

Testifying before a congressional judiciary subcommittee last year, Mrs. Smolinski explained that in her son's case, his disappearance was initially dismissed by local police. Later, DNA in the investigation was mishandled, Mrs. Smolinski said.

Federal law requires law enforcement to report missing children, but not adults and not unidentified bodies.

That means databases designed to help police investigators close missing persons cases are incomplete and often unused, Janice Smolinski said.

Billy's Law would link the only public database, known asNamUs--National Missing and Unidentified Persons System--that has information on both missing and unidentified cases, with a Federal Bureau of Identification database.

It also calls for up to $10 million in grants for coroners and police training on using the databases and for handling missing persons cases.

Urge The Senate To Help Solve Missing Persons Cases

2010-03-25T08:47:00.001-07:00

Start a Petition »

NamUs can crack missing person cases - Billy's Law ensures its use

2010-03-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

Database can crack missing person cases _ if used

By STEVE KARNOWSKI (AP) – Mar 7, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS — A new online database promises to crack some of the nation's 100,000 missing persons cases and provide answers to desperate families, but only a fraction of law enforcement agencies are using it.

The clearinghouse, dubbed NamUs (Name Us), offers a quick way to check whether a missing loved one might be among the 40,000 sets of unidentified remains that languish at any given time with medical examiners across the country. NamUs is free, yet many law enforcement agencies still aren't aware of it, and others aren't convinced they should use their limited staff resources to participate.

Janice Smolinski hopes that changes — and soon. Her son, Billy, was 31 when he vanished five years ago. The Cheshire, Conn., woman fears he was murdered, his body hidden away.


FILE- In a photo made March 17, 2007, Janice Smolinski poses in her Cheshire, Conn., home where a photo of her son, Billy, is visible in the foreground. Billy disappeared from his Waterbury, Conn. home in Aug. 2004 and Smolinski believes a Justice Department database program will someday help find her son who was 31 when he vanished. (AP Photo/Michelle McLoughlin, File)

She's now championing a bill in Congress, named "Billy's Law" after her son, that would set aside more funding and make other changes to encourage wider use of NamUs. Only about 1,100 of the nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide are registered to use the system, even though it already has been hailed for solving 16 cases since it became fully operational last year.

"As these cases become more well known, as people learn about the successes of NamUs, more and more agencies are going to want to be part of it," said Kristina Rose, acting director of the National Institute of Justice at the Justice Department.

Before NamUs, families and investigators had to go through the slow process of checking with medical examiner's offices one by one. As the Smolinski family searched for clues to Billy's fate, they met a maze of federal, state and nonprofit missing person databases that weren't completely public and didn't share information well with each other.

NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, allows one-stop sleuthing for amateurs, families and police. Anyone can enter all the data they have on a missing person, including descriptions, photos, fingerprints, dental records and DNA. Medical examiners can enter the same data on unidentified bodies, and anyone can search the database for potential matches that warrant further investigation.

So far, about 6,200 sets of remains and nearly 2,800 missing people have been entered, said Kevin Lothridge, CEO of the National Forensic Science Technology Center in Largo, Fla., which runs NamUs for the Justice Department.

Detective Jim Shields of the Omaha, Neb., Police Department hadn't heard about NamUs until he saw a presentation at a conference in 2008. He then had a local volunteer associated with NamUs input his data on several missing people.

Among them was Luis Fernandez, who had been missing for nearly a year before his family went to police in 2008. Shields didn't have a lot on Fernandez, a known gang member who'd been in and out of jail — only gender, race, height, weight, age and some data on his tattoos.

It proved to be enough. Just a few weeks later, similarities were spotted with the unidentified remains of a homicide victim found in a farm field in Iowa in 2007. In January, a lab informed Shields it had a DNA match — and that he could break the news to Fernandez' family.

"I could say fairly certainly that this would never have been solved if not for NamUs," Shields said.

Some other recent successes:

_ Paula Beverly Davis, of the Kansas City, Mo., area, had been missing for 22 years until a relative saw a public service announcement on TV in October for NamUs and told her sister, who gave it a try. Among the 10 matches her sister found were a body dumped in Ohio in 1987 that had the same rose and unicorn tattoos as her sister. DNA tests confirmed the body was Davis.

_ Sonia Lente disappeared in 2002. Last June, an amateur cybersleuth with the Doe Network, a nationwide volunteer group that helps law enforcement solve cold cases, noticed similarities between Lente's description in NamUs and an unidentified body found near Albuquerque, N.M., in 2004. Dental records later established it was Lente.

Detective Stuart Somershoe of the Phoenix Police Department said his agency, which has over 500 open missing persons cases, just finished entering 100 cases into NamUs. He's hopeful his department can make a match.

"It's kind of time-consuming but I think it's a worthwhile program," Somershoe said.

NamUs grew out of a Justice Department task force working on the challenge of solving missing persons cases. One need that the task force identified was to give people who could help solve cases better access to database information.

"Billy's Law" sailed through the House late last month and is pending in the Senate, where supporters are confident it will easily pass.

The bill would authorize $10 million in grants annually that police, sheriffs, medical examiners and coroners could use to train people to use NamUs and to help cover the costs of entering data into the system. It would also authorize another $2.4 million a year to run the system and ensure permanent funding.

The bill would also link NamUs with a major FBI crime database that's now available only to law enforcement, partly because it contains sensitive information about ongoing investigations. That confidential data would be withheld from NamUs when necessary.

Billy Smolinski, of Waterbury, Conn., was last seen Aug. 24, 2004, when he asked a neighbor to look after his dog. His pickup truck was later found outside his home, though not where he usually parked it. His wallet and other belongings were still inside.

The Smolinski family first struggled to get police to take a missing adult case seriously. It took a long time for investigators to finally conclude Billy had been killed, perhaps as a result of a love triangle gone sour. The family put up reward posters, searched places where they thought his body might have been hidden and kept pressure on police.

Smolinski said she came to see how police were often overwhelmed, but to her NamUs is a "no-brainer."

"If they find remains I'm hopeful they'll identify him through NamUs," Smolinski said.

On the Net:

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System: http://www.namus.gov

NamUs Missing Person Database Goes Unused by ...
PC Magazine - 6 days ago
'NamUs' Site Crowdsources Missing Persons, But Lacks a Crowd
Switched (blog) - 6 days ago
Only A Few Police Agencies Signed Up To Use Missing Persons Database
The Crime Report - 6 days ago
More coverage (219) »

Billy's Law: Making NamUs.Gov Happen

2010-03-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

According to a recent Associated Press (AP) report, the free online database `NamUs' - short for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System - is only being used by 6.5 percent, or 1,100, of the country's 17,000law enforcement agencies, for tracking missing persons.

The clearinghouse, which is designed to help identify over 40,000 sets of unknown remains that languish with the country's medical examiners, is not as widely used as it should be largely because either the lack of adequate publicity has resulted in hardly any awareness about it, or most law enforcement agencies are chary of using their already-limited staff resources to participate in the service.

Nonetheless, the AP report also specified that NamUs - which promises to solve almost 100,000 missing persons' cases of the country - has thus far helped crack 16 cases, after becoming fully operational last year.

Furthermore, the service is home to nearly 6,200 unidentified sets of remains, and 2,800 missing people; has, as per The Crime Report, been accessed by over 185,000 people, for missing persons' details, till January 2009.

To encourage a wider use of NamUs and seeking additional funding set aside for the service, a Cheshire, Connecticut-based woman Janice Smolinski is currently championing a bill in the Congress. The bill - "Billy's Law," named after Smolinski's 31-year-old son Billy, who went missing in 2004 - will mandate law enforcement agencies to database details about all the 21-or-over missing adults.

Legislation to Help Families of Missing Loved Ones

2010-03-05T23:54:00.000-08:00

Law to Help Families of Missing Adults

By KATIE HELLER

Updated 6:15 PM EST, Tue, Feb 23, 2010

Legislation to help families of missing adults moved a step closer to becoming law.

The House of Representatives approved "Billy's Law" on Thursday. The legislation is named after Waterbury's Billy Smolinksi Jr. who disappeared from his home in August 2004.

The legislation was introduced by Rep. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Rep. Ted Poe of Texas. The congressmen drafted the bill after the Smolinskis, of Cheshire, described the nightmare their family endured after their 31-year-old son, Billy, disappeared from Waterbury.

The legislation calls for improving data-sharing about missing people and streamlining the reporting process for law enforcement. It also calls for making databases more comprehensive which could help lead to a match between a missing person and unidentified remains.

Billy Smolinksi's family hopes the measure will help families avoid the systemic challenges they faced in trying to get police to search for their son.

"By creating a robust, user-friendly national missing persons and unidentified remains database, "Billy's Law", will help heal family wounds -- by finally giving parents and family members like the Smolinskis the ability to be true partners with law enforcement in the search for their loved one, " said Murphy.

Other Connecticut lawmakers also weighed in on the bill.

"Passing "Billy's Law" will offer families of missing adults confidence that we are doing everything we can to locate their loved ones, " said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-CT.

Fire refined into a Tool for the Missing

2010-02-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

The Fire

Angry At A System They Trusted To Help Find Their Missing Son, Jan and Bill Smolinski Seek Federal Reform

Story and Photographs
By John Murray

Fire makes steel.

For Jan and Bill Smolinski a fire of angst and pain engulfed their lives after their 31 year old son Billy vanished six years ago. The fire is so hot it could shatter friendships and destroy their marriage, Left alone, the fire would consume them.

The Smolinskis chose to redirect the fire - the energy - to use it as a tool to reform the tattered system that betrayed them during their desperate search to find their son. When Billy disappeared in August 2004 the Smolinskis believed the local police would work hard to find Billy.

They were wrong.

Read more ...

In the Words of a Mother with a Missing Son

2010-02-16T13:02:00.001-08:00

Billy's Law Facts, Legislative Process Guide, Q&A

2010-01-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

Congress, Billy's Law Facts, Guide, Q&A - Posted by Larrry Ramsdell in NamUs.Gov & Billy's Law/HR 3695

I have created this discussion for a couple of different reasons, to point out a few facts, for you to respond on your progress on cosponsors from the Senate, and for any questions that you may have on the topic of Congressman and Senators. We will be checking from time to time and one of us will answer your questions ASAP.

First of all I would like to point out an important fact on Congress
Congressman are the U.S. House of Representatives...Senators make up the Senate...TOGETHER CONGRESSMAN AND SENATORS AS A GROUP IS CONGRESS.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Click on the link above to find your Senators phone, email, addressee

A Few Tips For Filling Out This Form ...

After you click on the link, click choose a state...Both of your senators will appear....Then click on Web form which is (contact info).

As you are filling out the form you will get to A box marked choose a topic or issue, click on Homeland Security, most senators offer this if not click on Other. Finally you may have another box marked subject If so fill in HR3695 BILLY'S LAW.

NOTE: When filling out the message box if you have a personal story you would like to add why you are in support of this Bill, please do.

Senator Joe Lieberman of CT. Is The Sponsor of HR3695

If there are questions asked by your Senators DC office refer them to Senator Lieberman's DC office who will answer any questions or concerns
they may have.

When you are emailing or calling it is very important that you let
them know that Senator Lieberman is the sponsor of this bill. All
Senators do not have judiciary staffers, so you may speak with who
ever may answer the phone.

Learn more about the Help Find The Missing Act, H.R. 3695

2010-01-31T21:56:00.000-08:00

Find out more about Billy's Law and NamUs.Gov by clicking HERE!

A centralized locale, Forum Discussion Group on Peace4 the Missing dedicated towards spreading Awareness of this "Vital For All Missing!" Bill ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/categories/namusgov-billys-lawhr-3695/listForCategory

Billy's Law Blogspot
http://helpfindthemissingact.blogspot.com

On Top Of Capitol Hill ~ United We Stand

2010-01-25T10:23:00.000-08:00

ONE NATION UNDER GOD WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
A personal account testimony by Jan Smolinski

On January 21, 2010 the missing and unidentified voices echoed loud and clear in front of the subcommittee on Capitol Hill at 11:00 AM.

Our trip to DC started two days prior at 1:00 PM. My husband Bill Sr., John Murray (Journalist and owner of the Waterbury Observer) started our 6 hour drive to Washington DC. Anticipation and an enormous amount of emotions ran through my head but my final goal was to speak for our nations families and the daily nightmare they face.

The Silent Crisis needs to be revealed and be heard loud and clear.

The first night we had some extra time, checked into our hotel and met John in the lobby we walked to a local eatery called Potbelly's the food was tremendous, we found ourselves eating other meals at the same restaurant.

After our dinner we walked to the Metro- subway that took us across town in the direction of the "White house". It was amazing to actually stand in front of the "White house" and think of the history that had taken place within the walls of the historical Presidential dwelling.

Directly across the street of the White house was a protestor for peace and against nuclear weapons. We spoke with him and learned he and another woman take 12 hour shifts, both have been residing on the sidewalk since the 1980's. They live on donations people kindly put in a medal dish nearby. The man was pleasant and obviously dedicated to the cause. I can't imagine how they could sleep and spend each day for 12 hours in the area they have called their home. The temperature dips down to the single numbers at times. This particular evening was balmy for a winter in January, it was 50 degrees. Walking and taking in the sights was a real pleasure.

After leaving the White house we walked over to the Washington Monument. It is an enormous structure, we talked about the history of it and continued on walking by the enormous Smithsonian Institute, directly in front of us was the Capital Building. It was magnificent,the dome was well lit. We stood in awe just talking about the history. On the path leading to the Capital building was surprisingly free of people, a few joggers ran by us that was the extent of it. The presence of security was very evident every where you travel in downtown DC.

After the capital we walked to Union Station where we took the subway back to the hotel on Connecticut Avenue. This was a first time for Bill and I to see the magnificence of our great country's capital and what our country has stood for for many many years. In the two hours we walked, John is knowledgeable about the buildings and filled our heads with historical facts. We are grateful to have him with us.

10:00 PM we said good night to John and went to our room.

6:30 AM we met John in the lobby, walked to eat breakfast, that started our day. The rest of time spent in DC was scheduled and busy. We took a cab to the Capital John got his press pass than met at 11:00 AM for preparation of the testimony to be be held the next day.

After lunch, an aid for Congressman Murphy took us on a tour of the Capital building it was very interesting, every room beamed with history.

The mental and emotional drain of the day was evident, we took the subway back to the hotel. Bill and I turned in, John told us he walked up Connecticut Ave until 11:30 that night.

Testimony day, 6:30 AM, we met John in the hotel lobby and walked down the street to a local breakfast place. After, we dressed for the day in suits, hailed a cab and off to the Capital.

Traffic is always heavy in the AM so we allowed time just in case and arrived in plenty of time. In order to get into the building security is very strict and takes time to go through the screening.

Our destination was the Cannon House where the congress offices reside. The other side of the building is where the Senators reside. On this day we were to stay on the Congress section of the building.

Preparation continued until the time of the hearing. Senator Lieberman's counselor came to Congressman Murphy's office and talked with us for a while. At that time she said it would be time to get Senator Co sponsorship and revealed that Senator Lieberman had committed to sponsor the bill. It is exciting to see the bill move forward.

Shortly before 11:00 AM we walked to the room to testify, it was an out of body experience. I was well aware this was a one time shot and had to fight for the families. "The Quilt of Hope" hung under the subcommittee and directly in front of us.

We were introduced to the panel members who would testify and exchanged our thoughts with one another concerning the bill.

Hearing Information
Hearing Documentation

Hearing on: H.R. 3695, the "Help Find the Missing Act" or "Billy’s Law"

Thursday 01/21/2010 - 11:00 A.M.

2141 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

By Direction of the Chairman

Witness List

Panel I

Hon. Christopher S. Murphy

U.S. House of Representatives
5th District, CT

Hon. Ted Poe
U.S. House of Representatives
2nd District, TX

Panel II
Janice Smolinski
Cheshire, CT

Stephen L. Morris
Deputy Assistant Director
Criminal Justice Information Services Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, DC

Kristina Rose
Acting Director
National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
U.S. Department of Justice Washington, DC

After Congressman Murphy and Congressman Poe finished testifying, we exchanged seats and we sat three in a row from left to right Stephen Morris -FBI, Kristina Rose- DOJ, and Me. I was to testify first. Directly in front of me was the "Quilt of Hope" with faces looking directly at the panel as if to say, please help me. It was an emotional time I knew I had to deliver every ounce of voice and speak for the families.

If it wasn't for all the families and supporters we would not have reached the point to where we are today. You are important and we need to hold hands, be the village and make the long over due bill become law. There are no words to express what happened that day. The subcommittee was attentive you could hear a pin drop as each testimony was read.

We met tremendous people and they truly care about each and every story heard. They actually understand and are committed. One of the truly touching moments was when after the hearing the Quilt was looked at by members and others in the room.

We returned back to the Congressman's office where we ate lunch. After lunch, the Congressman and I attended a press conference by phone. Our CT local TV station WVIT set up an interview in a building nearby that housed many TV stations including MSNBC. The back-drop in the interview room is the Dome of the Capital building which added to the emotions of the day and how important this day truly had been.

Exhausted and emotionally worn we walked to Union Station, took the subway back, checked out of the hotel and drove back home.

We left with a sense of accomplishment, eager to continue on this journey, the excitement was evident everywhere. A special thank you to Congressman Murphy and Linda Foreman, Judiciary staffer who championed and addressed the problems and did whatever necessary to create H.R.3695 Help Find The Missing Act (Billy's Law) for the good of all the families in the country.

Thank you Congressman Poe and all the co sponsors for understanding that the time is right and the need to improve the non working system we have currently have and the courage to take a stand.

We returned home at 10:00 PM after our 6 hour drive home.

The bill is moving forward now excepting not only co sponsors of Federal Congress persons but Senators as well with Senator Lieberman sponsoring on the Senate side. The bill is now going onto a committee where they will "markup" which means they are going to change whatever they feel necessary to the bill which we were told there will be little change.

Uncertainty is a cancer that crushes the spirit of loved ones left behind, destroys marriages and tears at the tissue of family bonds. The stress of having a missing loved turns some to substance abuse, creates health problems and drives people into bankruptcy. Unless there is some form of resolution, the heartache never truly goes away.

Congressman Murphy's effort gives families like ours hope for a better, more certain tomorrow. This legislation is long overdue, and the missing community applauds his effort. This act is named after our son, but it's not for him, or the Smolinski family.

This act is for every American, and is an ultimate act in Homeland Security.

UNITED WE STAND

National Crime Information Center’s Role in the ‘Help Find the Missing Act’

2010-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Stephen L. Morris, Deputy Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Statement Before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

Criminal Justice Online Courses: National Crime Information Center’s Role in the ‘Help Find the Missing Act’

Co-Sponsors From Senate Needed for Billy's Law

2010-01-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

Posted by Larrry Ramsdell on January 22, 2010 at 2:21pm in NamUs.Gov and Billy's Law/HR 3695

I am happy to say now is the time we need everyone's help and
support on getting Senators to cosponsor Billy's Law HR3695. As I
had mentioned before 50 states 100 Senators. The link below will
give you all the information you need, first an email then a phone
call.

SENATOR JOE LIEBERMAN OF CT. IS THE SPONSOR OF HR3695

When you are emailing or calling it is very important that you let
them know that Senator Lieberman is the sponsor of this bill. All
Senators do not have judiciary staffers, so you may speak with who
ever may answer the phone.

Cosponsors from your Congressman is an on going process. A simple rule to remember is, if he or she is not a cosponsor already and you have not received an answer from them, then there still is work left to do.

Co-Sponsors From Senate Needed for Billy's Law!

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE TO FIND YOUR
SENATOR, EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER

Connecticut Mom Lobbies Congress

2010-01-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

Connecticut Mom Lobbies Congress

By DEBRA BOGSTIE

Janice Smolinski's son Billy disappeared back in August 2004. He's never been found. Now, she's taking her fight to Congress, hoping to reform the way missing persons cases are handled by police.

Smolinski testified before a congressional sub-committee Thursday morning in favor of Billy's Law. "In our search to find our son we encountered a Pandora's Box and when we opened it we unleashed the nightmare plaguing the world of the missing and unidentified dead," said Smolinski during the hearing.

The proposed legislation would secure congressional authorization and funding for the only existing public database that includes both information on missing persons and unidentified remains, said Congressman Chris Murphy, D- 5th District, who is sponsoring the bill. It would also link that database to an FBI database, making more information accessible to families who are searching for loved ones, while also taking steps to protect sensitive information, he said.

"A missing persons report may be entered into one database while a person's remains may be listed in another making it almost impossible for family members to try to connect those missing pieces," said Murphy during the hearing.

The legislation would also provide up to $10 million in funding for police training every year, to encourage wider use of the databases and improve police responses to missing persons cases, Murphy said.

Smolinski says her family encountered unimaginable hurdles in trying to work with police and locate their loved one. Smolinski told lawmakers that Waterbury police made them wait three days to file a police report despite their belief a crime occurred. Once a report was filed, police worked the case as a low priority, she said. They also mishandled DNA evidence, and failed to properly enter information in missing persons databases, said Smolinski.

She was disturbed to learn that databases designed to help close cases were not linked together, and were rarely used by law enforcement or medical examiners around the country.

"We have tried to change the system so no family would have to endure the anguish that we have lived through," said Smolinski.

Waterbury police have taken steps to improve their handling of missing persons cases, said Smolinski. So have other police departments aroundConnecticut, but many more need to make improvements around the country, she said.

"Uncertainly is a cancer that crushes the spirit of loved ones left behind," said Smolinski.

Waterbury police, State police, and the FBI continue working the case.

Billy's Law Moves Forward ~ More Co-Sponsors Needed

2010-01-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

Bill could aid search for missing persons

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo, Naugatuck Valley Bureau Chief

A Cheshire mother whose son has been missing for more than five years testified in Washington, D.C., Thursday about the importance of the proposed “Billy’s Law” in helping families find their missing loved ones.

Janice and William Smolinski’s son, William Smolinski Jr. of Waterbury, disappeared Aug. 24, 2004, at the age of 31.

Janice Smolinski and U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5, testified Thursday at a hearing before the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security about the “Help Find the Missing Act,” or “Billy’s Law.”

Murphy co-introduced the federal legislation, which is named after Billy Smolinski, last summer.

“I’m here to represent the families of all the missing in the United States,” Janice Smolinski said. “I know what they are going through.”

Thousands of Americans disappear each year. Meanwhile, there are about 40,000 sets of unidentified remains being held or disposed of, with no organized system to match cases and remains. The proposal is an effort to have an organized way to find matches. It would provide law enforcement, medical examiners, and coroners with the guidance and resources to help bring closure to families of the missing, according to Murphy.

“It was an emotional and productive hearing,” Murphy said Thursday. “I’m confident the proposal will get swift passage through committee, the House and Senate.”

Murphy said he hopes the law will go to President Obama’s desk by the end of the year.

Police have said they think Billy Smolinski was the victim of foul play, and they have searched without success for his body at several locations, including in Shelton and Seymour. His parents say they are optimistic their son will be found.

“Right now, law enforcement is meeting every three or four weeks to discuss Billy’s case, and I think it will be soon,” Janice Smolinski said.

Janice Smolinski said after Billy vanished, law enforcement was slow to respond and take their fears seriously. It took four years for her son’s information to get entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center, something that should happen immediately, she said.

Murphy said systems in place now for law enforcement and medical examiners to use to help families find their loved ones aren’t linked.

Smolinski said she believes the changes allowed under Billy’s Law are major breakthroughs.

“There is a disconnect between medical examiners and law enforcement,” she said. “This will mean a central database.”

According to Murphy, federal law currently doesn’t mandate that information about missing adults and unidentified bodies be entered into national databases. While law enforcement can voluntarily report this information, a lack of resources and knowledge of the national databases often prevents them from doing so, Murphy said.

“It is a nightmare to think a body has been recovered and is sitting in a morgue somewhere, and you as a family don’t know yet,” Murphy said.

The legislation would authorize, and therefore help ensure funding for, the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs , which was created in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Justice to provide a missing persons/unidentified database that the public can view and contribute information. The NamUs site, www.namus.gov , has information on missing people and unidentified decedents, a tool for trying to match them.

The proposal would connect NamUs with the NCIC to create more comprehensive missing persons and unidentified remains databases, and streamline the reporting process for local law enforcement.

More databases would be available to the public, so families can help with the search.

Under the plan, the FBI would make NCIC information available to the public, with the exception of information it considers to be classified, Murphy said.

The legislation would create an incentive grants program to help states, local law enforcement and medical examiners report missing and unidentified persons to NCIC, NamUs and the National DNA Index System. The proposal is for up to $10 million to go toward the grant program, according to Murphy.

Funding would still need to be approved by the appropriations committee, he said.

If a police department or agency gets the federal grant money, then within 72 hours of an adult going missing, they must put the required information into the NamUs and NCIC databases, according to Murphy’s office.

Watch Jan Smolinski's Testimony Live! Judiciary Committee Hearing, Jan. 21

2010-01-21T06:40:00.000-08:00

TODAY @ 11AM - WATCH JAN'S TESTIMONY LIVE!

http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_100121.html

HR 3695 The Help Find The Missing Act (Billy's Law): PUSHING FORWARD - PEACE4 THE MISSING

2010-01-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

Today, January 14, 2010 is Billy Smolinski's birthday, the missing person for which this bill is named.

There is a Judiciary Committee Hearing scheduled for January 21 and his mother, Janice, will be speaking before the committee. She will be speaking as not only a mother with a missing child, but as a representative of all of the family members of a missing person, she is our voice. She has worked 3 years for this day, for the opportunity to finally get this bill before the Representatives in Congress.

It's very clear to all of us who want passage of this bill that it is a "one shot deal." If it fails to make it, there will NOT be another chance to make it happen. The importance of this can not be emphasized enough.

If you have a missing loved one, or are someone who cares about the missing, please help us in this effort. Contact your district's US Representative NOW and ask them to support and sign on as a Co-Sponsor.

Read More...
HR 3695 The Help Find The Missing Act (Billy's Law): PUSHING FORWARD - PEACE4 THE MISSING

Please join us at Peace4 the Missing
Missing Persons Awareness and Support Network
http://peace4missing.ning.com

Call to Action: Help Find the Missing Act

2010-01-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Thank You, Jennifer for this EXCELLENT Article!

On August 24, 2004, Billy Smolinski disappeared. He is still missing. His mother, Jan, could have given in to despair and the unknown but instead she found a fight deep inside to not only move forward in grief but to improve the system that is supposed to help moms like her find their missing children. Part of her fight is with the very people who are supposed to look for Billy. The people with the training and resources haven’t done enough -- in part because Billy was 31 years old when he disappeared and in part because there aren’t any laws in place setting procedures for declaring and searching for missing people who are neither children nor seniors.

But Jan and her family, and families like hers, fight every day to improve the resources available to law enforcement and find ways to encourage law enforcement to utilize those resources and give families the right to demand action be taken to find their loved ones.

On January 21, 2009, Jan will testify before the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security to tell them her story from the disappearance of her son to the struggles and obstacles in getting proper police action. I ask that you please send a handwritten note encouraging each member of the subcommittee to attend the hearing and give witness to Jan’s story.

I also ask that you encourage the subcommittee members, as well as your own members of the House, to become co-sponsors of HR-3695 "The Help Find the Missing Act" also known as "Billy’s Law" and to vote for it when the time comes.

HR 3695 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. It directs the Attorney General to:
(1) share information on missing persons and unidentified human remains contained in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing and Unidentified Person File database with the NamUs database;
(2) establish a grant program to assist in the reporting of missing persons and unidentified remains information to the NCIC and NamUs databases;
(3) 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
(4) report to Congress on the status of the NCIC Missing and Unidentified Person File and NamUs databases.
This bill amends the National Child Search Assistance Act of 1990 to require reports of missing children (under age 21) to NamUs databases.
http://thomas.loc.gov/...

The members of the subcommittee are:

Rep. Bobby Scott (D) Virginia, 3rd
Washington Office
1201 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Pedro Pierluisi (D) Puerto Rico
Washington Office
1218 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D) New York, 8th
Washington Office
2334 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D) California, 16th
Washington Office
102 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D) Texas, 18th
Washington Office
2160 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Maxine Waters (D) California, 35th
Washington Office
2344 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0535

Rep. Steve Cohen (D) Tennessee, 9th
Washington Office
1005 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D) New York, 9th
Washington Office
2104 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) Florida, 20th
Washington Office
118 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Mike Quigley (D) Illinois, 5th
Washington Office
1319 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R) Texas, 1st
Washington Office
511 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Ted Poe (R) Texas, 2nd
Washington Office
430 Cannon Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R) Virginia, 6th
Washington Office
Bob Goodlatte 2240 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Dan Lungren (R) California, 3rd
Washington Office
2262 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515

Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R) Virginia, 4th
Washington D.C. Office
2438 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Thomas J. Rooney (R) Florida, 16th
Washington Office
1529 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

HR 3695 currently has one sponsor and ten co-sponsors but needs more! If your Representative is currently a cosponsor, please send them a handwritten thank you note to remind them about this bill and ask them to please stress its merits with their fellow members of Congress.

Sponsor
Congressman Christopher Murphy (D-CT, 5)
Washington Office
412 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Co-sponsors
Rep. Marcia Fudge [D, OH-11]
Washington office
1513 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Barton Gordon [D, TN-6]
Washington Office
2306 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D, NY-22]
Washington Office
2431 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D, NY-14]
Washington Office
2332 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3214

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter [R, MI-11]
1632 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Walter Minnick [D, ID-1]
Washington Office
1517 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Eleanor Norton [D, DC-0]
Washington Office
2136 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

**Rep. Ted Poe [R, TX-2]
Washington Office
430 Cannon Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter [D, NH-1]
Washington Office
1330 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Edward Whitfield [R, KY-1]
Washington Office
2411 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

To find your representative and his or her mailing address you can find it at: https://writerep.house.gov/...

You can track HR 3695 on OpenCongress.com
http://www.opencongress.org/...

I plan on writing diaries in the future with updates and further action. We need support from the House and Senate and the general public. We need to value all those who go missing and do our best to find them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this diary that isn’t about health care reform, Afghanistan, climate change or the other timely issues that make headlines. I truly appreciate it.

Jennifer

Update - Billy's Law (H.R. 3695) Co-Sponsors and Status

2009-12-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

H.R. 3695: Billy's Law
111th Congress
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.

Sponsors:
Rep. Christopher Murphy [D-CT5]
Cosponsors:
Eleanor Norton [D-DC]
Barton Gordon [D-TN6]
Maurice Hinchey [D-NY22]
Carolyn Maloney [D-NY14]
Thaddeus McCotter [R-MI11]
Walter Minnick [D-ID1]
Ted Poe [R-TX2]
Carol Shea-Porter [D-NH1]
Edward Whitfield [R-KY1]

Billy's Law Update and Plea for Support - Your Hands are Needed to Complete the Circle of Hope

2009-11-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

WE NEED YOU TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT H.R. 3695 HELP FIND THE MISSING ACT (Billy's Law) - FEDERAL CO-SPONSORS NEEDED - IN EVERY STATE! - PERSEVERANCE GETS THINGS ACCOMPLISHED!

H.R.3695 HELP FIND THE MISSING ACT (Billy's Law) has been introduced and we are asking if you would so kindly open the link : http://criminaljustice.change.org/actions/view/support_for_hr_3695_the_help_find_the_missing_act_billys_law review and complete the easy questions in the box provided then hit send. A letter will be sent to your Federal Congress person asking for support and co sponsorship

If your life has been personally touched by a missing person, please ADD COMMENTS of your life altering experience, a brief history of the person, when and how you feel they they disappeared, your legislators will see the human aspect and the need to support such a bill.

Please see the PDF for bill

http://tinyurl.com/BillHR3695

Filling in the Gaps of the Nation’s Missing Persons Systems

Endorsed By: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Fraternal Order of Police, National Associations of Police Organizations (NAPO), Connecticut Department of Public Safety, National Forensic Science Technology Center, National Center for Forensic Science, Doe Missing Persons Network, Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons, Inc., Peace4TheMissing, Please Help Find The Missing Group, Project EDAN, LostNMissing Inc., Center for Hope, CUECENTER, Surviving Parents Coalition

Sponsored by Representatives Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Ted Poe (R-TX)

Current Cosponsors: Walt Minnick (ID-I), Ed Whitfield (R-KY) Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)

We are appreciative of the endorsement for H.R. 3695 from the National Associations of Police Organizations. (NAPO)

Please click here for link to their endorsement letter: http://tinyurl.com/NAPO-HR3695

This legislation is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy’s family knows all-too-well the systemic challenges in trying to find the missing. They quickly learned that while federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, there are no such requirements for adults – or unidentified bodies. Compounding this problem is the fact that local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners, often don’t have the resources or training to voluntarily report these cases. Finally, even when missing adults and remains are reported, the wide-range of unconnected federal, state, local, and non-profit databases to help match the missing with unidentified bodies, makes finding a match an often insurmountable challenge.

Billy’s Law builds upon recent efforts to address these issues by:

Authorizing, and therefore helping to ensure funding for, the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which was created in July 2007 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide a missing persons/unidentified database that the public could access and contribute;

Connecting NamUs with the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in order to create more comprehensive missing persons and unidentified remains databases and streamlining the reporting process for local law enforcement;

Creating an incentive grants program to help states, local law enforcement and medical examiners/coroners report missing persons and unidentified remains to NCIC, NamUs, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS);

Calling on the DOJ to issue guidelines and best practices on handling missing persons and unidentified remains cases in order to empower law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners to help find the missing.

In closing, I thank you again for your review and hopeful support. Should you have any questions or needs, I am sure that Representative Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Ted Poe (R-TX) would be honored to respond to your inquiries.

Please see the PDF of this very important bill: http://tinyurl.com/BillHR3695

by Janice Smolinski, Mother of Billy

Encourage Your Congressional Leaders to Pass H.R. 3695!

2009-10-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Help Find The Missing Act (Billy's Law)

Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) was joined by family members of missing persons from Connecticut and local law enforcement officials on August 6, 2009 to announce that he is introducing federal legislation to help families find missing loved ones.

"Nobody should have to go through what the Smolinskis have gone through. Billy's Law will give more tools to families who are going through the heart wrenching experience of learning their loved one has gone missing. The systems we have in place now for law enforcement and medical examiners to use to help families find their loved ones don't talk to each other. That's inexcusable, and so the bill I am introducing fixes that problem, once and for all," said Murphy.

Murphy's legislation is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy's family has experienced many obstacles in searching for their missing son, including the fact that federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, but not adults or unidentified bodies. While law enforcement can voluntarily report this information, a lack of resources and knowledge of the system often prevents them from doing so.

"The notion that we are living in a CSI society is nothing more than a television fantasy. My son Billy vanished five years ago, and in our efforts to find him we opened a Pandora's Box of problems plaguing the world of the missing and the unidentified dead. Just about anything that could go wrong in the effort to find our son went wrong. Law enforcement training has to catch up with science and technology and Congressman Murphy's act will ensure that it does," said Janice Smolinski, Billy's mother.

Every year tens of thousands of Americans go missing, never to be seen by their loved ones again. At the same time, there are also an estimated 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains that are being held or disposed of across the country, and no organized system to match cases and remains. Murphy's "Help Find the Missing Act" (Billy's Law) is an effort to fix the enormous gaps in the nation's missing persons systems and bring closure to the loved ones of the missing, while providing law enforcement, coroners and medical examiners the resources and guidance to do the reporting.

Billy's Law empowers families and loved ones of the missing to find justice by helping to secure funding for the only federal missing persons and unidentified remains database that can be cross-searched, accessed and added to by the public - the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). This database enables the loved ones of the missing to spend countless hours searching for a match and add invaluable information to the case profile that only they know.

The legislation helps to streamline the reporting process for law enforcement and medical examiners by connecting two major federal missing persons and unidentified remains databases- the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the NamUs. Connecting these databases makes them more comprehensive and more likely to lead to a missing person or unidentified remains match.
Billy's Law builds upon Connecticut's 2007 Law Enforcement and Missing Persons law as it calls for the issuance of broad recommendations for standards and procedures for law enforcement to follow in dealing with missing persons and unidentified remains

Rep. Vickie Nardello, who represents the 89th District which includes Bethany, Cheshire and Prospect, said: "I applaud Rep. Murphy's efforts to pass federal legislation to adopt uniformed procedures on how we handle missing persons. A national policy will be the culmination of Jan Smolinski's dreams and hard work. During the upcoming Connecticut legislative session we will continue to pursue additional reform of missing person procedures. With the help of law enforcement agencies we expect passage of this legislation in Connecticut."

Senator Joan V. Hartley, 15th Senatorial District said: "I first of all want to commend Congressman Murphy on the 'Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law)' initiative which is sorely needed not only in the 5th Congressional district but throughout the State of Connecticut as well as the United States. In this age of high speed data access and information, we should at the very least, be able to ensure that citizens and their families, especially in times of crisis, are provided every access to information in seeking to identify the whereabouts of the persons that they seek."

BILLY'S LAW

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Find Out How To Help Pass Billy's Law (The Help Find the Missing Act) Here!

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Billy's Law Images - Please Use and Share

Important Message Billy's Law HR 1300: Co-Sponsors Needed in House and Senate

Discussion Forum - NamUs.Gov/Billy's Law

Petition Congress to Pass "Billy's Law" to Help Find The Missing

PETITIONING

STARTED BY

OVERVIEW

PETITION LETTER

RIT Friends of George DeLany Successfully Lobby Senator Schumer's Support of Billy's Law

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Please Voice Your Support of NamUs.gov and Billy's Law for The Families of the Missing

THIS is the story of Billy (Billy's Law) Smolinski

THANK YOU, Senator Joseph Lieberman, for having a HEART for the Missing!

THANK YOU, Senator Joseph Lieberman, for having a HEART for the Missing ... From Peace4 the Missing's Families of Missing Loved Ones ...

02.23.10

Billy Smolinski, the Missing Son who Inspired the Creation of Billy's Law

NamUs.gov WITH Billy's Law: Stronger Together - A Perfect Match

In order to improve the current situation of how all Missing Persons cases are handled within the United States it is of ESSENTIAL importance that we all actively work together to ensure the passage of Billy's Law

Billy's Mom, Jan Smolinski, An Eagle Rare Life Award 2011 Nominee

Maureen's letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Billy's Law S.3019 - PEACE4 THE MISSING

What is Billy's Law and NamUs.Gov?

leave no stone unturned

Make History - Participate in the passing of Billy's Law

The Forgotten PSA on NamUs.Gov

Facebook Challenge ~ Change Your Profile Pic in Support of Billy's Law TODAY!

Help Save Billy's Law!

Why Do We Need Billy's Law?

If you're for the Missing, You're for Billy's Law

Your Voice Counts for Missing Persons Change!

Speak Out and Speak Up - Why do you support NamUs/Billy's Law?

The Action Behind Billy's Law - NamUs.Gov

Join the Billy's Law Campaign for much needed Senate Judiciary Co Sponsors!

Videos on The Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law, HR3695) ACT NOW, PART 1 and 2

Thank You Senator Lieberman for truly Believing in Billy's Law

By KATHLEEN HARRINGTON

Updated 2:00 PM EDT, Mon, Mar 29, 2010

Urge The Senate To Help Solve Missing Persons Cases

NamUs can crack missing person cases - Billy's Law ensures its use

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