Bill to Shore Up the Crime Victims Fund Passes House

Press Release

Today, H.R. 1652, the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021, passed the House with broad bipartisan support. Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04) was an original cosponsor of this bipartisan, bicameral legislation, which aims to improve the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by making updates to the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) that provides crime victims with much-needed assistance and compensation.

"I am pleased this commonsense legislation received bipartisan support from my colleagues," said Rep. Feenstra. "It is unacceptable that deposits into the Crime Victims Fund have been declining, and addressing this has become even more pressing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. By preventing future cuts to the CVF, survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking and other crimes will have a reliable, sustainable resource for getting the assistance they need and deserve."

The CVF is funded through federal criminal penalties, but deposits have dropped over the past several years. This is in part due to penalties being deposited into the general fund of the Treasury, and then they are not properly routed and deposited into the CVF. This decrease in funds has resulted in cuts to victim service providers. Among other things, this bill would require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to deposit all deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreement monetary penalties into the CVF.

In 2020, all 56 State and Territorial Attorneys General sent a letter to Congress in support of implementing these updates. The VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 is supported by more than 1,670 national, regional, state, territorial, and local organizations, including: the National Children's Alliance, the National Criminal Justice Association, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National District Attorneys Association, and the National Association of Victim Assistance Administrators.

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