[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2074 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2074

    To increase the special assessment for felonies and improve the 
    enforcement of sentences imposing criminal fines, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                  May 4 (legislative day, May 2), 1994

  Mr. McCain introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To increase the special assessment for felonies and improve the 
    enforcement of sentences imposing criminal fines, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Crime Victim Assistance Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS ON CONVICTED PERSONS.

    (a) Increase.--Section 3013(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``$50'' and inserting 
        ``not less than $100''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``$200'' and inserting 
        ``not less than $400''.
    (b) Extension of Period of Obligation.--Section 3013(c) of title 
18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``five'' and inserting 
``20''.

SEC. 3. TIMING OF PAYMENT OF FINES AND RESTITUTION.

    (a) Clarification of Provision Concerning When a Fine Must Be 
Paid.--Section 3572(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(d) Time, Method of Payment, and Related Items.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise ordered under 
        paragraph (2), a person sentenced to pay a fine or other 
        monetary penalty shall not be released from custody following 
        sentencing until the person has paid the fine or penalty in 
        full.
            ``(2) Delayed payment.--(A) At sentencing, the court may, 
        if the interest of justice requires, permit the defendant to 
        delay payment of a fine or other penalty.
            ``(B) If the court permits the defendant to delay payment 
        of a fine or penalty, the court shall require that--
                    ``(i) an installment on the criminal debt be paid 
                immediately or as soon as the court determines that it 
                would be possible for the defendant to pay an 
                installment;
                    ``(ii) the criminal debt be paid in full by a date 
                certain, which shall not be a date later than the date 
                that is 5 years (not including any term of 
                imprisonment) after the date of sentencing; and
                    ``(iii) the defendant make payment in equal monthly 
                installments or on such other schedule as the court may 
                specify.''.
    (b) Amendment of Provision Concerning When Restitution Must Be 
Paid.--Section 3663(f) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``(f)(1) The court may require'' and all that follows through 
``(4) The order of restitution'' and inserting the following:
    ``(f) Time, Method of Payment, and Related Items.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise ordered under 
        paragraph (2), a person required to pay restitution shall not 
        be released from custody following sentencing until the person 
        has paid the restitution in full.
            ``(2) Delayed payment.--(A) At sentencing, the court may, 
        if the interest of justice requires, permit the defendant to 
        delay payment of restitution.
            ``(B) If the court permits the defendant to delay payment 
        of restitution, the court shall require that--
                    ``(i) an installment on the debt of restitution be 
                paid immediately or as soon as the court determines 
                that it would be possible for the defendant to pay an 
                installment;
                    ``(ii) the debt of restitution be paid in full by a 
                date certain, which shall not be a date later than the 
                date that is 5 years (not including any term of 
                imprisonment) after the date of sentencing; and
                    ``(iii) the person make payment in equal monthly 
                installments or on such other schedule as the court may 
                specify.
            ``(C) This paragraph shall not be construed to limit any 
        right that a victim may have to obtain and enforce a civil 
        judgment against the defendant or seek any other legal remedy 
        available to the victim to redress any injury caused by the 
        defendant.
            ``(3) Recipient of payment.--The order of restitution''.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT OF SENTENCE OF A FINE THROUGH ORDER SUSPENDING 
              FEDERAL BENEFITS OR REQUIRING COMMUNITY SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--Section 3572 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(j) Suspension of Federal Benefits.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) `Federal benefit' means a grant, contract, 
                loan, professional license, or commercial license 
                provided by an agency of the United States or by any 
                entity using appropriated funds of the United States 
                (including a retirement, welfare, Social Security, 
                health, disability, or veterans' benefit, public 
                housing, or any similar benefit, or any other benefit 
                for which payments or services are required for 
                eligibility); and
                    ``(B) `veterans' benefit' means a benefit provided 
                to veterans, their families, or survivors under laws 
                administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
            ``(2) Order.--If a defendant is delinquent in paying a fine 
        or other monetary penalty imposed under this section, the court 
        may, after a hearing, issue an order that--
                    ``(A) suspends the provision of Federal benefits to 
                the defendant for the time period in which the 
                defendant is delinquent, until such time as--
                            ``(i) the delinquency is cured; or
                            ``(ii) if the court so orders, the 
                        defendant demonstrates a good-faith effort to 
                        cure the delinquency; or
                    ``(B) if the defendant demonstrates that the 
                defendant is unable to make payments as required--
                            ``(i) sets a payment schedule that will 
                        require the defendant to pay the maximum 
                        amounts that the defendant can reasonably be 
                        expected to pay under the circumstances; or
                            ``(ii) requires the defendant to perform 
                        any community service that would be appropriate 
                        for an offender to perform, under guidelines 
                        issued by the Attorney General.
            ``(3) Reinstatement of benefits.--An order under paragraph 
        (2) may provide that if the defendant cures a delinquency for 
        any time period, a Federal benefit that is in the form of a 
        payment of money or other instrument of value to which the 
        defendant would have been entitled with respect to that time 
        period shall be provided to the defendant (without addition of 
        interest for the delay in payment).''.
    (b) Application of Amendment.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
shall not be applied to deny a Federal benefit to any person until the 
date on which the Attorney General, in consultation with the Director 
of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, issues a 
written determination that a criminal debt payment tracking system 
operated by the agency responsible for the collection of criminal debt 
has established communications links with entities that administer 
Federal benefit programs that are sufficient to ensure that Federal 
benefits are not denied to any person except as authorized by the 
amendment made by law.
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
States should adopt procedures for the enforcement of fines similar to 
those adopted by the amendment made by subsection (a).

SEC. 5. CRIME VICTIMS FUND.

    (a) Allocation of Funds for Costs and Grants.--Section 1402(d)(4) 
of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601(d)(4)) is amended 
to read as follows:
            ``(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Director may 
        retain any portion of the Fund that was deposited during a 
        fiscal year that is in excess of 110 percent of the total 
        amount deposited in the Fund during the preceding fiscal year 
        as a reserve for use in a year in which the Fund falls below 
        the amount available in the previous year.
            ``(B) The amount held in reserve under subparagraph (A) at 
        any time shall not exceed $20,000,000.''.
    (b) Prohibition of Payments to Delinquent Criminal Debtors by State 
Crime Victim Compensation Programs.--Section 1403(b) of the Victims of 
Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (7);
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(8) such program does not provide compensation to any 
        person who has been convicted of an offense under Federal law 
        with respect to any time period during which the person is 
        delinquent in paying a fine or other monetary penalty imposed 
        for the offense; and''.
    (c) Exclusion From Income for Purposes of Means Tests.--Section 
1403 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602) is amended 
by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Exclusion From Income for Purposes of Means Tests.--
Notwithstanding any other law, for the purpose of any maximum allowed 
income eligibility requirement in any Federal, State, or local 
government program using Federal funds that provides medical or other 
assistance (or payment or reimbursement of the cost of such assistance) 
that becomes necessary to an applicant for such assistance in full or 
in part because of the commission of a crime against the applicant, as 
determined by the Director, any amount of crime victim compensation 
that the applicant receives through a crime victim compensation program 
under this section shall not be included in the income of the applicant 
until the total amount of assistance that the applicant receives from 
all such programs is sufficient to fully compensate the applicant for 
losses suffered as a result of the crime.''.

SEC. 6. FORFEITURE OF COLLATERAL PROFITS OF CRIME.

    (a) Declarations.--The Congress declares the following:
            (1) In the case of Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. New York State 
        Victims Board, ____ U.S. ____, 112 S.Ct. ____ (1991), the 
        Supreme Court overturned New York's ``Son of Sam'' law on the 
        grounds that--
                    (A) the law appeared to focus on restricting an 
                offender's right to freedom of speech, in that the law 
                called for forfeiture only of income derived from an 
                offender's activity such as describing the offender's 
                participation in the offense or the offender's life 
                story for publication in the news or entertainment 
                media, but did not require forfeiture of any other type 
                of profit that an offender might be able to realize as 
                a result of the notoriety that may attach to an 
                offender;
                    (B) that restrictive effect did not appear to be 
                well designed to further the primary interest asserted 
                by the State of New York in enacting the law, namely, 
                the interest in providing a source of funds out of 
                which victims of an offense could seek restitution; and
                    (C) the law, which applied not only to persons who 
                are convicted of a crime but also to those who merely 
                have been accused, brought under its coverage a broad 
                range of activities, many of which might be seen as 
                relatively innocuous, or at least not sufficiently 
                serious to justify the penalty that the law imposed.
            (2) The case arguably draws into question the validity of a 
        similar (but not identical) Federal law, section 3681 of title 
        18, United States Code, so that it is appropriate for Congress 
        to make clear the interest that that law is intended to further 
        and to amend the law so as to make sure that it does not suffer 
        from the deficiencies found by the Supreme Court in the ``Son 
        of Sam'' law.
            (3) A person who has been convicted of a criminal offense 
        not only should be prevented from retaining anything of value 
        obtained by the offender during commission of the offense, but, 
        to the extent practicable, should also be precluded from 
        accepting anything of value that any person might offer by 
        reason of the notoriety of the offender in a case that has been 
        publicized in the news media and caught the interest of the 
        public.
            (4) The interest of the Government in precluding an 
        offender from profiting from an offense, which is the interest 
        that the Congress hereby declares is the interest that section 
        3681 of title 18, United States Code seeks to assert, is that 
        of punishing the offender and removing from the minds of any 
        potential offenders the thought that a person may profit from 
        the commission of a crime. If an offender should be permitted 
        to realize any profit at all from the commission of a crime, it 
        should be only for the purpose of raising funds with which to 
        pay restitution to victims or a fine imposed by the court; any 
        excess earnings should be forfeited to the Crime Victims Fund.
    (b) Amendment of Section 3681 of Title 18, United States Code.--
Section 3681(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(a) Upon the motion of the United States attorney made at any 
time after conviction of a defendant of an offense punishable by 
imprisonment for more than 1 year, after notice to interested parties, 
the court shall order the defendant to forfeit any payment of money or 
anything of value given to or for the benefit of the defendant in 
exchange for any item sold or service provided by the defendant if, 
under the circumstances, it is evident that--
            ``(1) the payment would not have been offered but for the 
        notoriety of the defendant as the person who committed the 
        offense; or
            ``(2) the sale or service is otherwise related to the 
        defendant's having committed the offense.''.

SEC. 7. AVAILABILITY OF CRIME VICTIMS FUND FOR INDIAN TRIBES.

    (a) Amounts of Funds for Costs and Grants.--Section 1402(d)(2) of 
the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601(d)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ``, of which 2.5 
        percent of the funds available under section 1403 shall be 
        available for Indian tribes and tribal organizations that serve 
        victims of crime'' before the semicolon; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ``, of which 2.5 
        percent of the funds available under section 1404 shall be 
        available for Indian tribes and tribal organizations that serve 
        victims of crime'' before the semicolon.
    (b) Crime Victim Compensation.--Section 1403 of the Victims of 
Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a) by adding at the end the following 
        new paragraph:
    ``(3) The Director shall make grants directly to Indian tribes and 
tribal organizations from funds available under section 
1402(d)(2)(A).'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``A crime victim compensation 
                program'' and inserting ``(1) State programs.--A State 
                crime victim compensation program'';
                    (B) by striking ``(1) such program is operated'' 
                and inserting ``(A) such program is operated'';
                    (C) by striking ``(2) such program promotes'' and 
                inserting ``(B) such program promotes'';
                    (D) by striking ``(3) such State certifies'' and 
                inserting ``(C) such State certifies'';
                    (E) by striking ``(4) such program,'' and inserting 
                ``(D) such program,'';
                    (F) by striking ``(5) such program'' and inserting 
                ``(E) such program'';
                    (G) by striking ``(6) such program'' and inserting 
                ``(F) such program'';
                    (H) by striking ``(A) the crimes'' and inserting 
                ``(i) the crimes'';
                    (I) by striking ``(B) the places'' and inserting 
                ``(ii) the places'';
                    (J) by striking ``(7) such program'' and inserting 
                ``(G) such program'';
                    (K) by striking ``(8) such program'' and inserting 
                ``(H) such program''; and
                    (L) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(2) Tribal programs.--
                    ``(A) Eligibility.--A crime victim compensation 
                program of an Indian tribe or tribal organization is an 
                eligible crime victim program for the purposes of this 
                section if the program meets criteria established by 
                the Director that are consistent with those stated in 
                paragraph (1), as modified by the Director to account 
                for the resources and needs of Indian tribes and tribal 
                organizations.
                    ``(B) Use of excess funds.--If for any fiscal year 
                the amount of funds required to be made available for 
                Indian tribes and tribal organizations under section 
                1402(d)(2)(A) exceeds the amount that crime victim 
                compensation programs of Indian tribes and tribal 
                organizations need to compensate victims--
                            ``(i) not to exceed $105,000 of that excess 
                        shall be made available to provide training and 
                        technical assistance to tribes and tribal 
                        organizations in establishing and administering 
                        victim compensation programs; and
                            ``(ii) any remaining excess shall be made 
                        available for grants generally administered 
                        under 1403.'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (3);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (4) and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraphs:
            ``(5) `Indian tribe' has the meaning stated in section 103 
        of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 
        (25 U.S.C. 450b); and
            ``(6) `tribal organization' has the meaning stated in 
        section 103 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).''.
    (c) Crime Victim Assistance.--Section 1404 of the Victims of Crime 
Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10603) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1) by inserting ``(except the portion 
        made available for Indian tribes and tribal organizations)'' 
        after ``1402(d)(2)'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(d) Grants To Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations.--(1) The 
Director shall make grants directly to Indian tribes and tribal 
organizations from funds available under section 1402(d)(2)(B).
    ``(2) A grant under this subsection shall be used for the purposes 
describe in subsection (c) and for such other purposes related to crime 
victim assistance as the Director considers to be appropriate.''; and
            (4) in subsection (e), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (4);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (5) and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraphs:
            ``(6) `Indian tribe' has the meaning stated in section 103 
        of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 
        (25 U.S.C. 450b); and
            ``(7) `tribal organization' has the meaning stated in 
        section 103 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).''.

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S 2074 IS----2