S. 2174 · 116th Congress · enacted
Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019
Became Public Law No: 116-277.
Latest official action 2020-12-31 · Enacted
The bill, briefly
Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019 This bill revises the authority for state grants to improve the reporting of unidentified and missing persons. The bill authorizes grants to be used for additional activities. In particular, grants may be used to improve the transportation, processing, and identification of missing persons and unidentified remains, including with respect to migrants. Further, the bill expands eligible entities to include local governments, medical examiners' offices, certain accredited and publicly funded laboratories, and certain nonprofit organizations. In addition, the bill expands the allowable uses of grant funds to include costs related to transportation, hiring, and procuring forensic equipment. The bill requires any DNA reference sample that is received from a suspected biological family member and uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System to be used only for identifying missing persons and unidentified remains. Next, the bill requires the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to purchase, deploy, and maintain no more than 170 rescue beacons along the southern border to mitigate migrant deaths. The bill also requires the CBP, the Department of Justice, and the Government Accountability Office to submit specified reports to Congress.
Congressional Research Service · 2020-12-31
Who reported lobbying on this bill?
Amount spent specifically on this bill: not disclosed
The reports below name this bill and disclose an organization’s overall lobbying expenses or a firm’s client income for the period. They can cover many bills and issues. These amounts are not payments to the bill or its politicians.
No matching lobbying report is imported yet. This is not evidence that no lobbying occurred.
2,409 latest lobbying reports imported. Some source imports are still in progress.
Politicians behind the bill
Sponsors and cosponsors from the official source, limited to members currently in office. Campaign amounts are cycle-wide and are not payments for this bill.
Sponsor
John Cornyn
Senate · TX · Republican
$1,943,978PAC receipts · 2025–2026
Cosponsor
Thom Tillis
Senate · NC · Republican
$950,975PAC receipts · 2025–2026
3 of 3 source cosponsor records retrieved; only current officials and unwithdrawn sponsorships appear.
PAC donors to the listed sponsors
These are all-cycle contributions to the listed sponsors’ and cosponsors’ campaigns. FEC does not attribute them to this bill. A donation plus sponsorship does not establish why a politician acted.
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION PAC (BANKPAC)$20,000
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. ASSOC. POLITICAL FUND$20,000
CONOCOPHILLIPS SPIRIT PAC$20,000
DENALI LEADERSHIP PAC$20,000
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE I$20,000
TOMORROW IS MEANINGFUL PAC$20,000
TEXAS FARM BUREAU AGFUND$19,238
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $19,238
Official PAC recordEXXON MOBIL CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (EXXONMOBIL PAC)$18,500
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$18,000
GOOGLE LLC NETPAC$16,000
TEXTRON INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$16,000
ABBOTT LABORATORIES EMPLOYEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
AFLAC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AFLAC PAC)$15,000
AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
ARKANSAS FOR LEADERSHIP POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ARKPAC)$15,000
CATERPILLAR INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (CATPAC)$15,000
CSX CORPORATION GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND$15,000
DAKOTA PAC$15,000
DAVITA INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (DAPAC)$15,000
DEFEND OUR CONSERVATIVE SENATE PAC (DOC'S PAC)$15,000
EMPLOYEES OF NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION PAC$15,000
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (GENERAL DYNAMICS EMPLOYEE PAC)$15,000
HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY PAC$15,000
NEXTERA ENERGY, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
OORAH! POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
PENNSYLVANIA HONOR$15,000
THE HAWKEYE PAC$15,000
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $15,000
Official PAC recordWALMART INC. PAC FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT$15,000
WESTERN ALLIANCE BANCORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (WABPAC)$15,000
THE CIGNA GROUP EMPLOYEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$14,000
AMGEN INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$13,000
FMR LLC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE - FEDERAL (FIDELITY PAC)$13,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$13,000
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP CIVIC ACTION COMMITTEE (AKA AKIN GUMP PAC)$12,500
AMERICA'S CREDIT UNIONS PAC$12,500
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $12,500
Official PAC recordENTERGY CORPORATION EMPLOYEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ENPAC)$12,500
INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS & BROKERS OF AMERICA, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (INSURPAC)$12,500
KOCH, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (KOCHPAC)$12,500
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$12,500
The largest 40 donor totals appear here. Open each politician for their complete, paginated PAC donor list.
What happened after enactment?
Dated agency-reported implementation and uptake measures are shown with their scope. They do not by themselves establish causal success. If no evidence is listed, the outcome is not established.
Measured outcome: not established
Enactment alone does not show whether a law improved its intended outcome. We need a dated evaluation, observed result or verified implementation record before claiming success or failure.