S. 1038 · Where this bill is now
In the House
Passed the Senate Sep 2, 2025. Received Sep 4, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryAdds federal land tracking to missing persons database
The bill asks the National Institute of Justice to add a new data field to NamUs, the national database that tracks missing persons and unidentified remains. This field would show whether a missing person was last seen on federal land or in U.S. territorial waters. The goal is to help organize and track information about missing persons in these specific locations.
How it affects you
This change primarily helps law enforcement, search and rescue teams, and investigators who work on missing persons cases, especially those involving federal lands like national parks and forests. For families of missing persons, it means the national database will have more detailed location information that could help in search efforts.
Read the official summary (Passed Senate, Sep 2, 2025)
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.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1038
AN ACT
TRACE Act
Sponsor: Sen. Thomas Tillis (R-NC) · Introduced Mar 13, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 3 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Sep 4, 2025: “Held at the desk.”