U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn, a longtime champion for families of missing persons, is calling for an immediate vote on his proposed “Billy’s Law” after a report by the Government Accountability Office found that law enforcement could more efficiently investigate missing persons cases if resources were shared.

“This is the year 2016, yet thousands of families are missing loved ones because government won’t let databases talk to each other,” Murphy said in a release Tuesday. “These families shouldn’t be victimized again by a broken system. Congress needs to pass Billy’s Law immediately.”

Billy’s Law, also known as “Help Find the Missing Act,” was introduced in Congress for the fourth time in September and calls for funding to train law enforcement on how to use the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, which is accessible to families of victims. Murphy has argued that families should be able to participate in the investigations for their missing loved ones, as they can provide helpful information to law enforcement.

The bill was inspired by the disappearance of William Smolinski, Jr., of Waterbury almost 10 years ago and the struggles his family has faced to get the right information to law enforcement about his identifying characteristics. Smolinski was 31 when he disappeared, and police reportedly believe he was slain , though no one has been charged in the case.

The Smolinskis discovered long after the search for their son had begun that law enforcement had the wrong dental records for him.

Murphy said in an address to the Senate last fall that those problems could have been avoided if information were able to be more easily shared.

There are two databases for missing persons and unidentified remains, but they are not currently linked and cannot be cross-searched, which is cause for inefficient investigations, according to the GAO report released Tuesday.

“Inefficiencies exist in the use of information on missing and unidentified persons primarily because there is no mechanism to share information between the systems,” the report says.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System is accessible to families so they can update and check the profiles of their loved ones for accuracy. The National Crime Information Center database is available only to authorized law enforcement users, and the two systems are not linked.

“By evaluating the technical and legal feasibility of options to share information, documenting the results, and implementing feasible options, DOJ could better inform those who are helping solve missing and unidentified persons cases and increase the efficiency of solving such cases,” the report says.

“Billy’s Law,” introduced in the Senate and the House, is in committees in both chambers.

According to the GAO, more than 600,000 people are reported missing every year.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System reports 167 individuals currently classified as missing in Connecticut.