[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 121 (Thursday, July 26, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3093, COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, 
             AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 25, 2007

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Poe-Costa-
Moore amendment to the CJS Appropriations Act. The Victims of Crime Act 
(VOCA) Fund was created by Congress in 1984 to provide Federal support 
to Federal, State, tribal and local programs that assist victims of 
crime. And this fund is derived entirely from fines and penalties paid 
by offenders at the Federal level, not taxpayer revenues.
  VOCA funds several important national programs, such as the 
Children's Justice Act, Victim Notification System, and the U.S. 
Attorney's office. It also funds Victim Compensation Grants that 
provide funds to states to reimburse victims for out-of-pocket 
expenses, primarily medical costs and lost wages. Finally, Victim 
Assistance Grants to states are also funded through VOCA. These grants 
go to States which support direct victim assistance services. It is 
estimated that 4,400 agencies depend on continued VOCA Victim 
Assistance Grant funding to serve 3.8 million victims a year.
  Congress began setting a cap in the appropriations process on the 
amount dispersed to States annually from the Fund in order to ensure 
stable funding for victim service providers in the field. Both the 
House and the Senate CJS subcommittees have included a $625 million cap 
for FY 2008. This would be the fifth year in a row without an increase 
in the total VOCA cap.
  Due to increasing claims, VOCA Compensation Grants rose $22.3 million 
in FY07 and are expected to rise by at least $5.6 million in FY08. The 
Poe-Costa Amendment will increase the VOCA cap by $10 million in FY 
2008 to help prevent cuts to VOCA Victim Assistance Grants.
  Crime victims are our sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, 
parents and neighbors who are struggling to survive in the aftermath of 
crime. They deserve services, and our support to help them cope. I urge 
all of my colleagues to support this important amendment.

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