A Republican bill with 4 Democratic cosponsors · See all 5 cosponsors
Last activity — Held at the desk.
Passed one chamber, waiting for the other to take it up
Passed one chamber, and the other has not yet sent it to a committee or put it on its calendar.
The other chamber will hand it to a committee, place it on its calendar, or leave it where it is. Nothing has been decided, and a bill can sit here indefinitely.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- Passed Senate unanimous consent
- Awaiting House
The Senate by unanimous consent (no one objected, so there was no vote): no senator's position on it was recorded.
What this bill would do
The TRACE Act directs the Attorney General to update the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. This update involves adding a specific data field to track missing persons. This field will indicate if a person's last known location was confirmed or suspected to be on Federal land or in the territorial waters of the United States. The bill also requires specific location details regarding the Federal land or water area to be included. Additionally, the Attorney General must submit annual reports to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees regarding these cases.
Yes
- Scored +3
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The act increases transparency through required annual reporting to Congress.
- Scored +3
Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests?
The act improves tracking of incidents on federal land through better data collection.
- Scored +2
Does this give the federal government more power?
The act expands federal data collection and reporting requirements regarding missing persons on federal lands.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Improved Tracking of Missing Persons: The addition of a data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System allows for the tracking of whether a person was last seen on Federal land or in territorial waters (Section 3).
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Detailed Location Information: The bill requires the inclusion of specific location details about the unit of Federal land or the area of the territorial waters that served as the last known location (Section 3).
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Increased Accountability and Oversight: The Attorney General is required to submit annual reports to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives regarding the number of cases involving Federal land or territorial waters (Section 4).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts or burdens are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The act increases transparency through required annual reporting to Congress. Does this give the federal government more power? — The act expands federal data collection and reporting requirements regarding missing persons on federal lands.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests? — The act improves tracking of incidents on federal land through better data collection.
- 9/4/2025
- Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Held at the desk.
- Received in the House.
- 9/2/2025
- Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5987; text: CR S5987)
- 7/28/2025
- Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 126.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 7/24/2025
- Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- 3/13/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- 4 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
Richard BlumenthalDemocrat · Connecticut
Shelley CapitoRepublican · West Virginia
Christopher CoonsDemocrat · Delaware
Christopher MurphyDemocrat · Connecticut
Alex PadillaDemocrat · California