A bill named after a missing Connecticut man is one step closer to becoming a law.

The House of Representatives passed Billy's Law on a nearly unanimous vote Wednesday night.

The bill aims to close loopholes in the country's missing persons system.

It was proposed as federal legislation following the disappearance of Billy Smolinski, from Waterbury, nearly two decades ago when he was 31 years old.

His family still does not have answers about exactly what happened, and they say they encountered systemic challenges while working with law enforcement to search for their missing son.

Sen. Chris Murphy first introduced Billy's Law in 2009.

It passed in the Senate last week and now goes to President Joe Biden to sign it into law.