PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 31, 2011
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.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
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.
People & committees
Sen. Lieberman, Joseph I. [ID-CT] · ID–CT
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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