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Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Ann Wagner (R-MO) today led 38 of their House colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter urging the Biden Administration to work with Congress to address funding shortfalls in the Victims of Crime Act’s (VOCA) Crime Victims Fund (CVF).

“The Victims of Crime Act is the largest source of federal, non-taxpayer, grant funding for victim service organizations,” the lawmakers write. “It also matches 75% of eligible state victim compensation funding. VOCA grants are funded by monetary penalties associated with federal criminal convictions and deferred- and non-prosecution agreements. These penalties are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), and appropriators decide how much to release from the CVF every year.  These deposits fluctuate based on the cases the Department of Justice successfully prosecutes and settles. After years of historically low deposits, the CVF has been depleted.”
 
“The Crime Victims Fund supports a wide range of critical services for crime victims including counseling, emergency shelters, and victims’ advocates across the country,” the lawmakers continue. “The proposed $1.2 billion in President Biden’s FY2024 budget would amount to a 41% cut to victim service grants going out to the states. Many programs are seeing even deeper cuts, as state administrators keep money in reserve in case of further cuts in future years. These cuts would leave survivors without the assistance they need to navigate the aftermath of a crime.”
 
“Without this funding, millions of victims, including survivors of domestic violence, will be left without access to safety, to justice, and to healing,” the lawmakers conclude. “As you develop your FY2025 Budget Request, we write to respectfully urge you to not only support bridge funding that avoids short-term funding cuts for these critical services, but also work together with Congress to investigate these continued shortfalls and seek long-term solutions that provide stability for victim services organizations.”
 
View the full letter text here.
 
The CVF is the largest source of federal grant funding for victim services organizations, including organizations supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence, child abuse, stalking, and other crimes.  Deposits into the CVF are at a historic low, which means appropriators are able to release lower amounts to support victim service organizations. They are currently facing a cut from $1.9 billion to $1.2 billion in FY2024. In the short-term, these organizations need Congress to provide a “bridge” to fund VOCA at its current level of $1.9 billion. Bridge funding will allow Congress to work with the Biden Administration to develop a long-term solution that provides a more stable stream of funding for VOCA.