Missouri lawmakers have introduced bills in Congress to recognize state address confidentiality programs at the federal level.
U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, announced the companion Senate and House bills at a Washington, D.C., news conference Thursday afternoon.
"Victims of abuse and domestic violence deserve to feel safe and protected in their own homes," Blunt said in a news release. "Missouri, along with 35 other states, has taken an important step by implementing address confidentiality programs to prevent abusers from locating their victims. This bill will ensure victims have the same privacy protections whether they're applying for a passport or a local library card."
Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill is listed as one five co-sponsors of the Senate bill.
Like McCaskill, Klobuchar is a former prosecuting attorney.
"I've been focused on helping victims of domestic violence and human trafficking break free from abuse," Klobuchar said in the news release. "Our bipartisan legislation would provide survivors with the peace of mind of knowing that their addresses are confidential as they work to rebuild their lives."
Former Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan launched the program in 2007, and won lawmakers' support for making it part of state law.
The Missouri program serves survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, human trafficking and, current Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said, has served more than 4,000 Missourians in the past decade.
People apply to the program and, if they're accepted into it, get a substitute address from the secretary of state's office that can be used when creating new public records.
The program also allows officials to take mail sent to that substitute address and forward it to the actual, but confidential, home address.
"These services keep survivors' confidential addresses out of the hands of their assailants," Ashcroft said in a news release, adding: "Participants of our Safe at Home program deserve to have the full confidence that their addresses will remain secure and confidential. Federal recognition of state protections is a big step in the right direction."
The proposed federal law is being called the Safeguarding Addresses from Emerging (SAFE) at Home Act.
Smith said: "It's our responsibility to update federal laws and prevent the government from releasing information states hold confidential. Doing this ensures that Missouri and states across the country can fully protect victims of violence. Your personal information belongs to you, not the government."
The proposed federal laws follows a unanimous vote from the National Association of Secretaries of State, adopting a resolution asking the federal government to recognize state address confidentiality programs.
That July vote came at the urging of Ashcroft and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon.