H.R. 3359: Homicide Victims' Families' Rights Act of 2021
Bill · 117th Congress (2021–2022). Became law, 3 Aug 2022 · Public Law 117-164. Introduced 19 May 2021.
Official title: To provide for a system for reviewing the case files of cold case murders at the instance of certain persons, and for other purposes.
Vote results
- House, 29 Mar 2022: Passed, 406 Yea, 20 Nay, 0 Present, 5 Not voting. The House’s roll call
- Senate, 25 Jul 2022: agreed to by unanimous consent; the record lists no member’s position. In the record’s words: “Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.”
- President: Signed 3 Aug 2022 · Public Law 117-164
How each member voted
White House
Signed (1): Joseph Biden (D, President).
Not in office (1): Donald Trump (R, President).
Senate
Agreed to by unanimous consent: the record lists no member’s position.
House
Yea (406): Harold Rogers (R-KY-5); Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ-4); Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5); Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9); Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR-4); Fred Upton (R-MI-6); Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6); Richard E. Neal (D-MA-1); David E. Price (D-NC-4); Jim Cooper (D-TN-5); Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-3); Maxine Waters (D-CA-43); Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10); Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-2); Ken Calvert (R-CA-42); James E. Clyburn (D-SC-6); Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-18); Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30); Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12); Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40); Bobby L. Rush (D-IL-1); Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-3); Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7); Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-2); Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3); Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35); Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18); Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19); Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3); Steve Chabot (R-OH-1); Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL-4); Kevin Brady (R-TX-8); Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7); Diana DeGette (D-CO-1); Kay Granger (R-TX-12); Ron Kind (D-WI-3); James P. McGovern (D-MA-2); Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-9); Brad Sherman (D-CA-30); Adam Smith (D-WA-9); Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-5); Barbara Lee (D-CA-13); John B. Larson (D-CT-1); Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA-32); Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL-9); Michael K. Simpson (R-ID-2); Mike Thompson (D-CA-5); Pete Sessions (R-TX-17); Sam Graves (R-MO-6); James R. Langevin (D-RI-2); Rick Larsen (D-WA-2); Betty McCollum (D-MN-4); Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-8); Joe Wilson (R-SC-2); Michael C. Burgess (R-TX-26); John R. Carter (R-TX-31); Tom Cole (R-OK-4); Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25); Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-3); Mike Rogers (R-AL-3); C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-2); Tim Ryan (D-OH-13); David Scott (D-GA-13); Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38); Michael R. Turner (R-OH-10); Darrell Issa (R-CA-50); Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-5); Jim Costa (D-CA-16); Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28); Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5); Al Green (D-TX-9); Brian Higgins (D-NY-26); Michael T. McCaul (R-TX-10); Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC-10); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5); Gwen Moore (D-WI-4); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23); Doris O. Matsui (D-CA-6); Albio Sires (D-NJ-8); Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL-12); Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16); Kathy Castor (D-FL-14); Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-9); Steve Cohen (D-TN-9); Joe Courtney (D-CT-2); Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA-4); Jim Jordan (R-OH-4); Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5); Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23); Jerry McNerney (D-CA-9); Ed Perlmutter (D-CO-7); John P. Sarbanes (D-MD-3); Adrian Smith (R-NE-3); Peter Welch (D-VT-AL); John A. Yarmuth (D-KY-3); Robert E. Latta (R-OH-5); Robert J. Wittman (R-VA-1); André Carson (D-IN-7); Jackie Speier (D-CA-14); Steve Scalise (R-LA-1); Tim Walberg (R-MI-7); Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA-11); Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2); James A. Himes (D-CT-4); Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-3); Tom McClintock (R-CA-4); Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1); Bill Posey (R-FL-8); Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15); Paul Tonko (D-NY-20); Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5); Mike Quigley (D-IL-5); Judy Chu (D-CA-27); John Garamendi (D-CA-3); Bill Foster (D-IL-11); Karen Bass (D-CA-37); Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8); David N. Cicilline (D-RI-1); Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR-1); Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4); Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3); Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (R-TN-3); Bob Gibbs (R-OH-7); H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9); Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-4); Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3); Bill Huizenga (R-MI-2); Bill Johnson (R-OH-6); William R. Keating (D-MA-9); Mike Kelly (R-PA-16); Billy Long (R-MO-7); David B. McKinley (R-WV-1); Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS-4); David Schweikert (R-AZ-6); Austin Scott (R-GA-8); Terri A. Sewell (D-AL-7); Daniel Webster (R-FL-11); Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL-24); Steve Womack (R-AR-3); Dina Titus (D-NV-1); Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7); Mark E. Amodei (R-NV-2); Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1); Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA-1); Thomas Massie (R-KY-4); Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10); Andy Barr (R-KY-6); Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3); Ami Bera (D-CA-7); Julia Brownley (D-CA-26); Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8); Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20); Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29); Rodney Davis (R-IL-13); Lois Frankel (D-FL-21); Richard Hudson (R-NC-8); Jared Huffman (D-CA-2); Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY-8); David P. Joyce (R-OH-14); Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI-5); Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6); Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-2); Ann M. Kuster (D-NH-2); Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1); Alan S. Lowenthal (D-CA-47); Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18); Grace Meng (D-NY-6); Markwayne Mullin (R-OK-2); Scott H. Peters (D-CA-52); Mark Pocan (D-WI-2); Tom Rice (R-SC-7); Raul Ruiz (D-CA-36); Chris Stewart (R-UT-2); Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15); Mark Takano (D-CA-41); Juan Vargas (D-CA-51); Marc A. Veasey (D-TX-33); Ann Wagner (R-MO-2); Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R-TX-14); Brad R. Wenstrup (R-OH-2); Roger Williams (R-TX-25); Robin L. Kelly (D-IL-2); Jason Smith (R-MO-8); Katherine M. Clark (D-MA-5); Alma S. Adams (D-NC-12); Donald Norcross (D-NJ-1); Pete Aguilar (D-CA-31); Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12); Brian Babin (R-TX-36); Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-8); Mike Bost (R-IL-12); Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-2); Ken Buck (R-CO-4); Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-1); Ed Case (D-HI-1); Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11); Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12); Tom Emmer (R-MN-6); Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-7); Garret Graves (R-LA-6); J. French Hill (R-AR-2); John Katko (R-NY-24); Brenda L. Lawrence (D-MI-14); Ted Lieu (D-CA-33); Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11); John R. Moolenaar (R-MI-4); Alexander X. Mooney (R-WV-2); Seth Moulton (D-MA-6); Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4); Gary J. Palmer (R-AL-6); Kathleen M. Rice (D-NY-4); David Rouzer (R-NC-7); Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY-21); Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12); Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4); Lee M. Zeldin (R-NY-1); Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL-10); David G. Valadao (R-CA-21); Trent Kelly (R-MS-1); Darin LaHood (R-IL-18); James Comer (R-KY-1); Dwight Evans (D-PA-3); Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX-19); Don Bacon (R-NE-2); Jim Banks (R-IN-3); Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44); Jack Bergman (R-MI-1); Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL); Anthony G. Brown (D-MD-4); Ted Budd (R-NC-13); Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA-24); Liz Cheney (R-WY-AL); J. Luis Correa (D-CA-46); Val Butler Demings (D-FL-10); Neal P. Dunn (R-FL-2); Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13); A. Drew Ferguson IV (R-GA-3); Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1); Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8); Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-15); Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5); Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN-9); Steven Horsford (D-NV-4); Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7); Mike Johnson (R-LA-4); Ro Khanna (D-CA-17); Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8); David Kustoff (R-TN-8); Al Lawson, Jr. (D-FL-5); Stephanie N. Murphy (D-FL-7); Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-1); Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20); Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8); Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11); Darren Soto (D-FL-9); Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY-3); Ron Estes (R-KS-4); Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34); John R. Curtis (R-UT-3); Conor Lamb (D-PA-17); Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-8); Michael Cloud (R-TX-27); Troy Balderson (R-OH-12); Kevin Hern (R-OK-1); Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY-25); Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5); Susan Wild (D-PA-7); Colin Z. Allred (D-TX-32); Cynthia Axne (D-IA-3); James R. Baird (R-IN-4); Tim Burchett (R-TN-2); Sean Casten (D-IL-6); Ben Cline (R-VA-6); Angie Craig (D-MN-2); Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2); Jason Crow (D-CO-6); Sharice Davids (D-KS-3); Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4); Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16); Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-7); Russ Fulcher (R-ID-1); Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29); Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-4); Jared F. Golden (D-ME-2); Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16); Mark E. Green (R-TN-7); Michael Guest (R-MS-3); Josh Harder (D-CA-10); Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5); Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6); Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL); John Joyce (R-PA-13); Andy Kim (D-NJ-3); Susie Lee (D-NV-3); Andy Levin (D-MI-9); Mike Levin (D-CA-49); Elaine G. Luria (D-VA-2); Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-7); Lucy McBath (D-GA-6); Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9); Carol D. Miller (R-WV-3); Joe Neguse (D-CO-2); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14); Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5); Chris Pappas (D-NH-1); Greg Pence (R-IN-6); Dean Phillips (D-MN-3); Katie Porter (D-CA-45); Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7); Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14); John W. Rose (R-TN-6); Chip Roy (R-TX-21); Kim Schrier (D-WA-8); Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11); Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-8); Abigail Davis Spanberger (D-VA-7); Greg Stanton (D-AZ-9); Pete Stauber (R-MN-8); Bryan Steil (R-WI-1); W. Gregory Steube (R-FL-17); Haley M. Stevens (D-MI-11); Van Taylor (R-TX-3); William R. Timmons IV (R-SC-4); Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13); Lori Trahan (D-MA-3); David J. Trone (D-MD-6); Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14); Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ-2); Michael Waltz (R-FL-6); Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10); Claudia Tenney (R-NY-22); Fred Keller (R-PA-12); Dan Bishop (R-NC-9); Mike Garcia (R-CA-25); Thomas P. Tiffany (R-WI-7); Chris Jacobs (R-NY-27); Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-4); Cliff Bentz (R-OR-2); Stephanie I. Bice (R-OK-5); Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA-7); Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16); Cori Bush (D-MO-1); Kat Cammack (R-FL-3); Jerry L. Carl (R-AL-1); Madison Cawthorn (R-NC-11); Andrew S. Clyde (R-GA-9); Byron Donalds (R-FL-19); Pat Fallon (R-TX-4); Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4); Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-7); Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5); Scott Franklin (R-FL-15); Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-2); Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL-26); Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23); Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-1); Yvette Herrell (R-NM-2); Ashley Hinson (R-IA-1); Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13); Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53); Mondaire Jones (D-NY-17); Kaiali’i Kahele (D-HI-2); Young Kim (R-CA-39); Jake LaTurner (R-KS-2); Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3); Nancy Mace (R-SC-1); Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11); Tracey Mann (R-KS-1); Kathy E. Manning (D-NC-6); Lisa C. McClain (R-MI-10); Peter Meijer (R-MI-3); Mary E. Miller (R-IL-15); Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-2); Barry Moore (R-AL-2); Blake D. Moore (R-UT-1); Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN-1); Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22); Marie Newman (D-IL-3); Jay Obernolte (R-CA-8); Burgess Owens (R-UT-4); August Pfluger (R-TX-11); Deborah K. Ross (D-NC-2); Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27); Victoria Spartz (R-IN-5); Michelle Steel (R-CA-48); Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10); Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15); Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24); Nikema Williams (D-GA-5); Julia Letlow (R-LA-5); Troy A. Carter (D-LA-2); Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1); Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6); Shontel M. Brown (D-OH-11); Mike Carey (R-OH-15); Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20); Michael F. Doyle (D-PA-18); G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-1); Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL-22); Tom Reed (R-NY-23); Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2); Filemon Vela (D-TX-34); A. Donald McEachin (D-VA-4); Charlie Crist (D-FL-13); Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19).
Nay (20): Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1); Mo Brooks (R-AL-5); Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ-4); Andy Harris (R-MD-1); Scott Perry (R-PA-10); Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6); Jody B. Hice (R-GA-10); Warren Davidson (R-OH-8); Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5); Matt Gaetz (R-FL-1); Clay Higgins (R-LA-3); Brian J. Mast (R-FL-18); John H. Rutherford (R-FL-4); Ralph Norman (R-SC-5); Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-AL); Lance Gooden (R-TX-5); Lauren Boebert (R-CO-3); Bob Good (R-VA-5); Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14); Matthew M. Rosendale, Sr. (R-MT-AL).
Not voting (5): Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16); Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17); Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35); Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC-3); Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE-1).
Speaker, not listed (1): Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12).
Not in office (17): Connie Conway (R-CA-22); Mayra Flores (R-TX-34); Mike Flood (R-NE-1); Brad Finstad (R-MN-1); Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK-AL); Patrick Ryan (D-NY-19); Joseph Sempolinski (R-NY-23); Rudy Yakym III (R-IN-2); Don Young (R-AK-AL); Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL-20); Devin Nunes (R-CA-22); Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH-11); Steve Stivers (R-OH-15); Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-2); Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1); Debra A. Haaland (D-NM-1); Ron Wright (R-TX-6).
Summary
Main subject: Requires federal law enforcement agencies to review the case files of cold case murders, and in some cases to reinvestigate them, when an immediate family member or similarly situated person applies in writing. Sec. 2, Sec. 4, Sec. 12
Its core areas: Case file review of cold case murders on application by family members; Full reinvestigation of cold case murders; Agency consultation with applicants and compliance procedures; Reporting and statistics on cold case murders.
Unexpected Items: 0 provisions
What it does
- Sec. 2: Requires the head of a federal law enforcement agency to review the case file of a cold case murder upon written application by one designated person, to determine if a full reinvestigation would result in probative investigative leads or a likely perpetrator.
- Sec. 2: Requires the agency to conclude its case file review and decide whether a full reinvestigation is warranted within 6 months of receiving the application, and allows one extension of up to 6 months under stated conditions.
- Sec. 4: Requires the agency to conduct a full reinvestigation if the case file review concludes that it would result in probative investigative leads, and bars anyone who previously investigated the murder from conducting it.
- Sec. 5: Requires the agency to consult with the designated person who applied, give periodic updates, and meet to explain its decision on whether to conduct a full reinvestigation.
- Sec. 12: Defines a cold case murder as a murder committed more than three years before the application, previously investigated by a federal law enforcement entity, with all probative investigative leads exhausted and no likely perpetrator identified.
- Sec. 13: Requires each agency to submit an annual report to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary on applications filed, extensions granted, full reinvestigations opened and closed, and information on suspects, arrests, charges and convictions.
Written automatically from the official text by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model. Written 15 Oct 2026 and published after the automatic checks, without a person reading it first. Every line names the section it came from.