S.Amdt. 3096

1. Adds SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE CRIME VICTIMS FUND wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE CRIME VICTIMS FUND.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--The Senate finds the following:--

   Inserted: (1) The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 ("VOCA") was enacted to provide Federal financial support for services to victims of all types of crime, primarily through grants to state crime victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

   Inserted: (2) VOCA created the Crime Victims Fund ("the Fund") as a separate account into which are deposited monies collected from persons convicted of Federal criminal offenses, including criminal fines, forfeitures and special assessments. There are no general taxpayer generated revenues deposited into the Fund.

   Inserted: (3) Each fiscal year, the Fund is used to support--

   Inserted: (A) formula grants to States for financial assistance to upwards of 4,400 programs providing direct victim assistance services to nearly 4,000,000 victims of all types of crimes annually, with priority for programs serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, and previously underserved victims of violent crime;

   Inserted: (B) formula grants to States to supplement State crime victim compensation programs, which reimburse more than 150,000 violent crime victims annually for out-of-pocket expenses, including medical expenses, mental health counseling, lost wages, loss of support and funeral costs;

   Inserted: (C) the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve, to assist victims of domestic and international terrorism;

   Inserted: (D) discretionary grants by the Office for Victims of Crime to provide training and technical assistance and services to victims of Federal crimes;

   Inserted: (E) Children's Justice Act grants to States to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases;

   Inserted: (F) victim witness coordinators in United States Attorney's Offices; and

   Inserted: (G) victim assistance specialists in Federal Bureau of Investigation field offices.

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   Inserted: (4) In the 108th Congress, a strong bipartisan, bicameral majority in Congress affirmed its support for the Crime Victims Fund and increased its commitment to crime victims in the Justice for All Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-405), which establishes Federal crime victims rights and authorized 2 new VOCA-funded victim programs.

   Inserted: (5) Before fiscal year 2000, all amounts deposited into the Crime Victims Fund in each fiscal year were made available for authorized programs in the subsequent fiscal year.

   Inserted: (6) Beginning in fiscal year 2000, Congress responded to large fluctuations of deposits into the Fund by delaying obligations from the Fund above certain amounts, as follows:

   Inserted: (A) For fiscal year 2000, $500,000,000.

   Inserted: (B) For fiscal year 2001, $537,500,000.

   Inserted: (C) For fiscal year 2002, $550,000,000.

   Inserted: (D) For fiscal year 2003, $600,000,000.

   Inserted: (E) For fiscal year 2004, $625,000,000.

   Inserted: (F) For fiscal year 2005, $625,000,000.

   Inserted: (G) For fiscal year 2006, $625,000,000.

   Inserted: (7) In the conference report on an omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2000 (Public Law 106-113), Congress explained that the reason for delaying annual Fund obligations was "to protect against wide fluctuations in receipts into the Fund, and to ensure that a stable level of funding will remain available for these programs in future years".

   Inserted: (8) VOCA mandates that ". . . all sums deposited in the Fund in any fiscal year that are not made available for obligation by Congress in the subsequent fiscal year shall remain in the Fund for obligation in future fiscal years, without fiscal year limitation".

   Inserted: (9) The Crime Victims Fund is a trust fund established without tax payer dollars to assist crime victims and should continue to be respected.

   Inserted: (10) For fiscal year 2006, the President proposed to "rescind" $1,267,000,000 from amounts in the Fund. Congress rejected this proposal in the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-108) and reaffirmed that amounts deposited or available in the Fund in any fiscal year in excess of $625,000,000 shall remain in the Fund and not be available for obligation until the following fiscal year.

   Inserted: (11) For fiscal year 2007, the President is recommending "rescission" of $1,255,000,000 from amounts in the Fund.

   Inserted: (12) The rescission proposed by the President would result in no funds being available to support crime victim services at the start of fiscal year 2008. Further, such rescission would make the Fund vulnerable to fluctuations in receipts into the Fund, and would not ensure that a stable level of funding will remain available for vital programs in future years.

   Inserted: (13) Retention of all amounts deposited into the Fund for the immediate and future use of crime victim services as authorized by VOCA is supported by many major criminal justice organizations, including--

   Inserted: (A) American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section;

   Inserted: (B) National District Attorneys Association;

   Inserted: (C) National Sheriff's Association;

   Inserted: (D) 56 Attorneys General;

   Inserted: (E) National Organization for Victim Assistance;

   Inserted: (F) National Network to End Domestic Violence;

   Inserted: (G) Mothers Against Drunk Driving;

   Inserted: (H) National Children's Alliance;

   Inserted: (I) National Alliance to End Sexual Violence;

   Inserted: (J) National Coalition Against Domestic Violence;

   Inserted: (K) National Center for Victims of Crime;

   Inserted: (L) National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators;

   Inserted: (M) National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards;

   Inserted: (N) United States Conference of Catholic Bishops;

   Inserted: (O) National Grange;

   Inserted: (P) the Justice Project;

   Inserted: (Q) Victims' Assistance Legal Organization, Inc;

   Inserted: (R) Justice Solutions, NPO;

   Inserted: (S) Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape; and

   Inserted: (T) National Organization for Parents of Murdered Children.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that the funding levels in this resolution assume that all amounts that have been and will be deposited into the Crime Victims Fund, including amounts deposited in fiscal year 2007 and thereafter, shall remain in the Fund for use as authorized under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984.

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   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed