[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8426 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8426
To encourage States to provide rights to survivors of violence, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 21, 2026
Ms. Simon (for herself, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Norton,
Mrs. Dingell, and Mr. Thanedar) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the
Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To encourage States to provide rights to survivors of violence, 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 Survivor Support and Stability
Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. RIGHTS OF SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE.
It is the sense of the Congress that each State should review and
revise, if necessary, its laws to ensure that survivors of violence
receive the healing, safety, and support they require after a
victimization, taking into account the following:
(1) A survivor of violence should be accorded the following
rights:
(A) A right to trusted and accessible community-
based help to heal from trauma, including for adult and
minor survivors.
(B) A right to programs that offer emergency and
flexible financial help quickly, without burdensome
administrative or exclusionary restrictions.
(C) A right to stable housing, including the right
to break a lease without penalty, or be protected from
eviction.
(D) A right to paid and job-protected leave time
off from work to address safety, medical, financial,
emotional, and other recovery, healing, and safety
needs related to the victimization.
(E) A right to debt forgiveness and financial
recovery in the case of a debt that is related to the
victimization.
(F) A right to legal assistance related to housing,
job, immigration, or family legal issues.
(G) A right to request and access community-based
alternative accountability or resolution processes,
instead of prosecution in the criminal justice system.
(H) A right to protection from arrest or conviction
for survivors criminalized as a result of
victimization, and to mitigated sentencing and record
clearance for convicted survivors whose offense was
related to trauma.
(2) The rights of a survivor of violence under paragraph
(1) should not be contingent on or in any way limited or
restricted by the following:
(A) A condition that the survivor or anyone else
has reported the victimization to a law enforcement
agency, court, or other local, State, or Federal agency
designated to investigate or prosecute crimes, abuse,
or violence.
(B) A condition that the survivor or a family
member of the survivor cooperate with a law enforcement
agency, court, or other local, State, or Federal agency
designated to investigate or prosecute crimes, abuse,
or violence.
(C) A survivor's race, religion, national origin,
sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender
identity, marital status, immigration status, housing
status, economic status, or family status.
(D) Whether a survivor has an arrest or conviction
record, is or has been incarcerated, or is or has been
under any form of correctional supervision.
(E) Any allegation that the survivor contributed to
the survivor's own victimization.
(F) The identity of the person who committed the
act of the violence (including whether the person is a
law enforcement officer) or the relationship of the
person to the victim.
SEC. 3. FLEXIBLE ASSISTANCE FOR SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE.
(a) Grant Program Established.--The Attorney General, acting
through the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime of the
Department of Justice (in this section referred to as the
``Director''), is authorized to award grants to community-based
organizations for the purpose of establishing assistance funds to
distribute direct cash assistance to survivors of violence, with the
goal of improving safety, healing, and financial stability for
survivors of violence, and family members of survivors of violence.
(b) Application.--An eligible community-based organization seeking
a grant under this section shall submit an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Director may
reasonably require, including the following:
(1) A description of the organization's history serving one
or more of the groups described in subsection (e)(4).
(2) A description of how the community or communities the
organization serves are impacted by violence and incarceration.
(3) The estimated number of survivors of violence or family
members of survivors of violence the organization currently
serves.
(4) The estimated number of survivors of violence or family
members of survivors of violence to whom the organization
anticipates it will distribute grant funds.
(5) How the organization plans to distribute cash
assistance to survivors of violence or family members of
survivors of violence to meet their immediate financial needs.
(6) How the organization plans to minimize the burden on
survivors of violence and their family members to provide
excessive documentation or paperwork.
(c) Eligibility.--A community-based organization shall be eligible
to apply for a grant under this section if the organization has a
history of serving survivors of violence, and the majority of people
the organization, or a project within the organization that will
administer the grant, serves are survivors of violence.
(d) Administration.--In administering the grant program under this
section, the Director shall do all of the following:
(1) Strive to minimize the paperwork burden on grant
applicants and grantees.
(2) Strive to develop application, awards, and reporting
processes that are accessible to community-based organizations
without past experience receiving a Federal grant award.
(3) Develop a plan to publicize the grant program in
advance of an application deadline.
(4) Provide technical assistance and training opportunities
to applicants and grantees.
(5) Develop tools to support applicants applying for a
grant under this section, including, templates and sample
applications, which shall be posted prominently on the website
of the Office for Victims of Crimes.
(6) Develop a website where survivors of violence and
members of the public can locate contact information for
community-based organizations receiving grants under this
section.
(e) Priority.--When considering grant applications, the Director
shall give priority to community-based organizations that--
(1) are located in, serve, and directly employ members of
communities that experience disproportionately high rates of
gun violence and imprisonment, as compared to such rates
nationally, as evidenced by, during the prior 3-year period--
(A) disproportionately high rates of individuals
who have been injured or killed by a firearm, as
compared to such rates nationally; and
(B) disproportionately high rates of individuals
who have been arrested or sent to jail or prison, as
compared to such rates nationally;
(2) are led by, or employ, individuals who are survivors of
violence or who are formerly incarcerated;
(3) are led by individuals who have proven ties to the
community in which the organization operates;
(4) have a history of providing services focusing on
vulnerable survivors of violence, including--
(A) survivors of color;
(B) survivors with disabilities;
(C) survivors who are transgender or gender
nonconforming;
(D) survivors who have faced disproportionate
police contact;
(E) survivors who are formerly incarcerated or who
have past arrests or convictions;
(F) immigrant survivors;
(G) Native American survivors;
(H) survivors who are unhoused;
(I) survivors of firearm injuries;
(J) survivors who have lost a family member to
homicide;
(K) low-income survivors; or
(L) geographically underserved survivors; and
(5) have leadership that reflects the racial and ethnic
diversity of the community in which the organization operates.
(f) Geographic Diversity.--In selecting grant recipients, the
Director shall ensure that, collectively, grantees represent a
diversity of geographic areas.
(g) Use of Funds.--
(1) Distribution of funds.--An organization receiving a
grant under this section may use the funds as follows:
(A) Distributing unrestricted cash assistance to
survivors of violence to meet the financial needs of
survivors or to cover the expenses of survivors, which
assistance--
(i) may be distributed at the discretion of
the organization and in amounts determined by
the organization based on the needs of
survivors, and in a way that minimizes or
eliminates the burden on survivors to provide
external documentation of their needs or
expenses;
(ii) may be distributed directly to a
survivor, to the parent or guardian of a
survivor if the survivor is a minor or
dependent adult, or if the survivor or the
parent or guardian of a minor or dependent
survivor requests, to a vendor, business, or
another third party to pay for an expense or
purchase a product on a survivor's behalf; or
(iii) may be distributed in the form of
cash, electronic transfer, check, direct
deposit, prepaid card, or in another similar
manner at the discretion of the organization
and based on the needs of survivors.
(B) To establish and maintain a program to
distribute the assistance described under subparagraph
(A), including staffing, training, operational, and
evaluation expenses, except that not more than 20
percent of the grant may be used for the purposes under
this subparagraph.
(2) Policies and procedures.--A community-based
organization receiving a grant under this section shall
establish and maintain policies and procedures for distributing
cash assistance to survivors of violence that--
(A) promote the distribution of cash assistance to
survivors in a manner that meets the immediate needs of
survivors quickly;
(B) do not require survivors to engage in other
services or programs as a condition of receiving cash
assistance;
(C) do not require survivors to provide or maintain
burdensome documentation of their need or spending;
(D) do not require survivors to report a crime to a
law enforcement agency, court, or other local, State,
Tribal, or Federal agency designated to investigate or
prosecute crimes, abuse, or violence as a condition of
receiving cash assistance;
(E) do not exclude survivors on the basis of
citizenship or immigration status; and
(F) do not exclude survivors on the basis of an
arrest or conviction record, nor on the basis of a
survivor's status under correctional control or
supervision.
(h) Grant Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall be
for a 4-year period.
(i) First Award.--Subject to the availability of appropriations,
not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director shall make the first grant award under this section.
(j) Exclusion From Income, Resources, and Assets.--
(1) Flexible cash assistance payments excluded from income,
resources, and assets for purposes of means tests.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law (other than section
1403 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20102)),
for the purpose of any maximum allowed income, resource, or
asset 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), any amount of cash assistance received by a
survivor of violence through the grant program established
under this section shall not be included for purposes of
calculating income, resources, or assets of the survivor, nor
shall that amount reduce the amount of the assistance available
to the survivor from Federal, State, or local government
programs using Federal funds.
(2) Flexible cash assistance payments not considered gross
income.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any cash
assistance received by a survivor of violence through the grant
program established under this section shall be excluded from
gross income under section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
(k) Reports.--
(1) Reports to the director.--Not later than 1 year after
receiving a grant under this section, and annually thereafter,
each community-based organization that receives a grant under
this section shall submit a report on the use of such grant
funds to the Director, as required by the Director. Such report
shall, at a minimum, include--
(A) the aggregate number of survivors of violence
who received cash assistance through the grant program;
and
(B) the average amount of assistance each such
survivor received through the grant program.
(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date on which the first 4-year grant period under this section
ends, and every 4 years thereafter, the Director shall submit
to Congress a report that, at a minimum, includes--
(A) any findings resulting from reports submitted
to the Director under paragraph (1); and
(B) best practices for grantees under this section
to implement flexible cash assistance programs for
survivors of violence.
(l) Administration and Evaluation.--The Director may reserve up to
8 percent of the funds appropriated for the grant program each year for
the costs of administering the grant program, including, without
limitation, employing personnel, providing technical assistance or
training to grantees or prospective grantees, contracting with
independent researchers to evaluate the impact of the program, and
issuing a report on the impact of the grant program.
(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to implement this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2027 through 2031.
SEC. 4. STATE LEVEL SUPPLEMENTAL VICTIM SURVEYS.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the
Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department of
Justice (in this section referred to as the ``Director''), shall make
grants to States to administer surveys to survivors of violence to
determine their needs related to having been survivors of violence.
(b) Priority.--The Director shall prioritize awarding grants to
recipients that solicit information about one or more of the following:
(1) The types of services survivors of violence received
related to having been victimized, and the experiences of such
survivors while receiving such services.
(2) Whether survivors wanted services that they did not
receive.
(3) The experiences of survivors with relocation, eviction,
immigration, and housing following victimization.
(4) The experiences of survivors with the use of force by
and injury caused by law enforcement officers.
(5) The prevalence of victimization and the post-
victimization needs of--
(A) individuals who have been arrested or convicted
of crimes;
(B) individuals who are unhoused; or
(C) individuals who are living in institutions,
including prisons, jails, medical or nursing
facilities, or mental health facilities.
(c) Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, each State
that receives a grant under this section shall submit to the
Director a report documenting the results and findings from the
survey funded by the grant.
(2) Publication by director.--The Director shall make
publicly available on the website of the Bureau of Justice
Statistics the reports submitted under paragraph (1).
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2027 and 2031.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Community-based organization.--The term ``community-
based organization'' means a nonprofit, nongovernmental, or
Tribal organization that serves a specific geographic
community. Such term does not include any law enforcement
agency or any court, or any other local, State, or Federal
agency designated to investigate or prosecute crimes, abuse, or
violence.
(2) Family member.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the term ``family member'' means, with respect to
an individual, any of the following:
(i) A child (whether a biological, foster,
adoptive, or step relationship), or a person
who is under the legal guardianship of the
individual or to whom the individual stands in
loco parentis or has stood in loco parentis.
(ii) A biological, adoptive, or foster
parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an
individual or an individual's spouse or
domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco
parentis when the individual or the
individual's spouse or domestic partner was a
minor child.
(iii) A person to whom the individual is
legally married under the laws of any State, or
a domestic partner.
(iv) A grandparent, grandchild, or sibling
(whether a biological, foster, adoptive, or
step relationship) of the individual or of the
individual's spouse or domestic partner.
(v) A person who lives in the same
household as the individual.
(vi) Any other individual related by blood,
adoption, or marriage or whose close
association with the individual is the
equivalent of a family relationship.
(B) Exclusion.--Such term does not include a person
who has committed an act or conduct described in clause
(i) through (vi) of subparagraph (A) against the
individual.
(3) Survivor of violence.--The terms ``survivor of
violence'' means an individual against whom any of the
following have been committed:
(A) An act or conduct during which another person--
(i) caused or threatened to cause bodily
injury to that individual;
(ii) exhibited, drew, brandished, or used a
firearm, or other weapon, against that
individual; or
(iii) used, or threatened to use, force
against that individual to cause injury or
death.
(B) Dating violence.
(C) Domestic violence.
(D) Family violence.
(E) Sexual assault.
(F) Sexual harassment.
(G) Trafficking.
(H) Stalking.
(4) Tribal organization.--The term ``Tribal organization''
has the meaning given such term in section 40002 of the
Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291).
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