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US Congress · S. 1038 · Passed the Senate

TRACE Act

Introduced
Moved
Reached a final decision
Introduced 2025-03-13
Derived from the official record below.

Officially: “TRACE Act Read the full text

Crime and Law Enforcement

What it does

Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act or the TRACE Act This bill requires the National Institute of Justice to include in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) an additional data field for information about whether the last known location of a missing person was on federal land or in the territorial waters of the United States. NamUs is a national information clearinghouse and resource center for cases involving missing persons and unidentified or unclaimed remains.
Summary by the Congressional Research Service, from the official record. Plain-language version below. Not legal advice.

Read it in plain language

AI plain language4 sections
Written by AI from the complete official bill text and independently fact-checked against it. Not legal advice.
1Short title

This section gives the Act its official short title: the Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act, or the TRACE Act.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act or the TRACE Act .

2Definitions

This section defines two terms used in the Act. "Attorney General" means the Attorney General acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice. "Federal land" means land owned by the United States that falls under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior (except land held in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe), or the Secretary of Defense, and for the Secretary of Defense only land and water resources projects administered by the Corps of Engineers count.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Attorney General The term Attorney General means the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice. (2) Federal land The term Federal land means land owned by the United States that is under the administrative jurisdiction of— (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; (B) the Secretary of the Interior (except land held in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe); or (C) the Secretary of Defense only with respect to land and water resources projects administered by the Corps of Engineers.

3Data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System related to Federal land

This section would require the Attorney General to add a data field to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The field would show whether a missing person's last known location was confirmed to be on Federal land or only suspected to have been on Federal land, and it would include specific location details about which unit of Federal land was involved.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

3. Data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System related to Federal land The Attorney General shall include in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System a data field to indicate whether the last known location of the missing person was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land, including any specific location details about the unit of Federal land that was the last known location of the missing person.

4Report

This section would require the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on the Judiciary. The first report would be due no later than January 15 of the second calendar year after the Act becomes law, with a new report due every year after that. Each report must state, for the previous calendar year, how many cases in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System had a missing person's last known location confirmed or suspected to have been on Federal land.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

4. Report Not later than January 15 of the second calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that contains, for the previous calendar year, the number of cases in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for which the missing person’s last known location was confirmed or was suspected to have been on Federal land.

AI plain languageRead the whole bill in plain language, 4 sections

Where it is

Introduced · 2025-03-13

In the Senate.

Passed the Senate · 2025-09-02
House floor vote · next · the next step

Official documents

The on-site text is shown verbatim from the GovInfo publication, captured 2026-07-23. The same version at GovInfo.

The numbers

29%
of bills that passed one chamber became law in the 118th Congress, 2023 to 2024 (n=939)
6
sponsors, out of 51 needed to pass

Who is lobbying on this

KROGER COvia THE KROGER CO.
5 filings
NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNIONvia NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNION
2 filings
THE CIGNA GROUP AND SUBSIDIARIES (FKA CIGNA CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES)via BANNER PUBLIC AFFAIRS, LLC
2 filings
From 9 filings in federal lobbying disclosures (LDA), via lda.gov, naming this bill (2025 to 2026). Filings are self-reported by lobbying firms and show who is paid to influence this bill. They do not say which side, or whether it worked.
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record. Last action: Held at the desk. (2025-09-04).