WATERBURY, Conn. — Friday, families of missing persons applauded Congress’ near-unanimous approval of a new law inspired by a case in Connecticut.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who introduced the bill, called this “a 15-year journey,” and said years ago when he was in the U.S. House, the bill passed there but then stalled in the Senate.
Now the “Help Find The Missing Act,” also known as Billy’s Law, is on its way to President Biden’s desk.
“We consider this a Christmas miracle for all,” said Jan Smolinski, Billy’s mother.
Almost two decades ago, 31-year-old Billy Smolinski vanished from his home in Waterbury and remains unfound to this day.
“We knew something was wrong,” Jan said. “No one really took attention to it and said he would be home when he was ready.”
“Ready” never came and the Smolinski's said they faced multiple obstacles in their own search for their son, from difficulty reporting him missing to a lack of information.
“I know law enforcement works really hard on these cases, but no one is going to work harder to find a missing loved one than the family members of that person,” said Murphy.
The Smolinskis’ search uncovered what they call a “shattered system” and they’re not the only family to struggle.
“As parents through our own tragedy, we had the unfortunate opportunity to see all the disparities with the whole system,” said Nichole Schmidt, Gabby Petito’s mother.
The case of Gabby Petito gained national attention last year and her family joined the Smolinski's in supporting this legislation.
“We've seen some huge gaps in the system and this is just one step towards filling those gaps,” said Gabby’s father, Joseph Petito.
The main purpose of Billy’s Law is to require all information law enforcement has about missing persons to be consolidated in one public-facing database, made available to families.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System website is here.
Friday Murphy and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, who introduced the measure in the House, credited both families for their advocacy and perseverance.
“We both appreciated that it would be a haul. We are in the last week of the legislative session. There's so much going on, we have a budget to fund,” Hayes said. “So your outside mobilization really is what helped to push this legislation to the floor for a vote.”
“This bill is going to change lives and I think it will save lives,” added Murphy. “That's a pretty impressive legacy.”
With Billy’s Law on its way to his desk, President Biden could sign it as early as next week.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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