[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 59 (Tuesday, April 15, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H2278-H2280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SUPPORTING THE MISSION AND GOALS OF NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS WEEK

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1053) supporting the mission 
and goals of National Crime Victims' Rights week in order to increase 
public awareness of the rights, needs, and concerns of victims and 
survivors of crime in the United States.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1053

       Whereas 23,000,000 Americans are victims of crime each 
     year, and of those, 5,200,000 are victims of violent crime;
       Whereas a just society acknowledges crime's impact on 
     individuals, families, and communities by ensuring that 
     rights, resources, and services are available to help rebuild 
     lives;
       Whereas victims' rights are a critical component of the 
     promise of ``justice for all,'' the foundation for our system 
     of justice in America;
       Whereas although our Nation has steadily expanded rights, 
     protections, and services for victims of crime, too many 
     victims are still not able to realize the hope and promise of 
     these gains;
       Whereas we must do better to ensure services are available 
     for underserved segments of our population, including crime 
     victims with disabilities, victims with mental illness, 
     victims who are teenagers, victims who are elderly, victims 
     in rural areas, and victims in communities of color;
       Whereas observing victims' rights and treating victims with 
     dignity and respect serves the public interest by engaging 
     victims in the justice system, inspiring respect for public 
     authorities, and promoting confidence in public safety;
       Whereas America recognizes that we make our homes, 
     neighborhoods, and communities safer and stronger by serving 
     victims of crime and ensuring justice for all;
       Whereas our Nation must strive to protect, expand, and 
     observe crime victims' rights so that there truly is justice 
     for victims and justice for all; and
       Whereas National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 13, 2008 
     through April 19, 2008, provides an opportunity for us to 
     strive to reach the goal of justice for all by ensuring that 
     all victims are afforded their legal rights and provided with 
     assistance as they face the financial, physical, and 
     psychological impact of crime: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the United States House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the mission and goals of the 2008 National 
     Crime Victims' Rights Week in order to increase public 
     awareness of the impact of crime on victims and survivors of 
     crime, and of the rights and needs of such victims and 
     survivors; and
       (2) directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to 
     transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the Office 
     for Victims of Crime in the Department of Justice.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, the National Center for Victims of Crime reports that 
approximately 23 million Americans are victimized by crime each year. 
Of these, more than 5 million are victims of violent crime.
  Victims of crime can suffer from a broad range of adverse effects, 
ranging from the physical to the psychological. Some experience 
financial distress resulting from a disruption in employment.
  Unfortunately, some of the most vulnerable of our society are also 
among those who are most commonly the victims of crime. People of color 
suffer disproportionately from violent crime. The poor and uneducated 
are often the target of financial schemes. And, sadly, children are 
victimized more than any other group.
  A just society demands that we always bear in mind the suffering that 
crime victims endure and work to reduce the incidence of the crime that 
causes that suffering.
  This bill will increase public awareness about the effects of crime 
on its victims and their families as well as our communities.
  As part of today's debate, I would also like to point out that the 
Office for Victims of Crime offers a full array of assistance help for 
crime victims. By supporting this office and its programs on an ongoing 
basis we can help ensure that victims are afforded their legal rights 
and the necessary assistance to overcome the effects of being 
victimized by crime.
  I encourage my colleagues to support H. Res. 1053.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H2279]]

  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this important resolution 
and the 28th annual observance of National Crime Victims' Rights Week. 
This year's theme, ``Justice for Victims, Justice for All'' is 
appropriate. Too often, victims of crime are made to be victims a 
second time, first as a result of the crime, but second as a result of 
our criminal justice system, the very system designed to protect them.
  In 2004, 20 years after Congress enacted the Victims of Crime Act, 
Congress enacted the Justice for All Act. This was a significant 
victory for crime victims, as it extended a number of enforceable 
rights to crime victims, including the right to be reasonably heard at 
any public proceeding involving release, plea or sentencing, the right 
to file a motion to reopen a plea, or sentence in certain 
circumstances, and, most importantly, the right to be treated with 
dignity, fairness and respect.
  Despite enactment, enforcement of these rights is just one of a 
number of important changes that needs to occur to ensure that our 
Nation's criminal justice system is just for both offenders and the 
victims of those crimes.
  In a hearing held by the Crime Subcommittee 3 weeks ago, testimony 
was presented revealing that crime victims continue to bear the brunt 
of crimes. According to the Department of Justice, crime costs victims 
and their families more than $105 billion in lost earnings, public 
victim assistance and medical expenses.
  For example, despite a victim's right to full and timely restitution, 
it remains one of the most underenforced victims' rights within our 
justice system. In fact, more than $50 billion in criminal debt, 
including restitution and fines, were uncollected in 2007. And the 
amount of outstanding criminal debt is only expected to increase, 
ballooning from $269 million to almost $13 billion. And in my own State 
of Ohio, more than $1.2 billion in criminal debt remained uncollected 
at the end of fiscal year 2007.
  While I appreciate the majority's effort to recognize National Crime 
Victims' Rights Week, I believe that more than just lip service can be 
done to help victims. Many of us have introduced good legislation, such 
as H.R. 845, the Criminal Restitution Improvement Act of 2007, or H.R. 
4110, restitution legislation introduced by Representative Shea-Porter 
that will do more to assist victims.
  If we all agree that crime victims bear the brunt of crimes, then why 
not pass a bill such as H.R. 845, that makes restitution mandatory and 
strengthens collection efforts?
  Enforcement of these rights is the type of legislation that crime 
victims and their families need and deserve to help rebuild their 
lives, not just the recognition that they exist on paper.
  I appreciate the work that my colleagues, Mr. Costa and Mr. Poe, have 
done on the Victims' Rights Caucus and in introducing this resolution. 
National Crime Victims Week serves many purposes, including to remind 
us what victims have suffered and the need to include them in the 
criminal justice system, to thank those individuals and organizations 
who have selflessly dedicated themselves to assisting victims, and to 
urge us all to rededicate ourselves to advance the cause of the victims 
of crime.
  I urge my colleagues to support the victims of crime and their 
families and those that help them rebuild their lives by supporting 
this resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to 
recognize my colleague from California, the author of this bill, 
Congressman Jim Costa, for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for 
yielding me the time.
  I rise today to introduce House Resolution 1053 with my colleague, 
Congressman Ted Poe. This supports the mission of the goals of National 
Crime Victims' Rights Week, and that designated that this week, April 
13 to April 19, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
  Congressman Poe and I introduced this resolution on behalf of Victim 
Rights Caucus members who have joined this effort over the recent 
years.
  In 1980 President Reagan first called for a national observance to 
recognize and honor millions of victims of crime in our country, their 
families and survivors. And with a bipartisan effort in Congress, that 
took place.
  National Crime Victims' Rights Week also pays tribute to thousands of 
community-based systems for victims service providers, who, in fact, 
provide support to the criminal justice system and allied 
professionals, who, in fact, help those victims of crime every week 
throughout the country.
  This year's theme for National Crime Victims' Rights Week is 
``Justice for Victims, Justice for All.'' We, as a Nation, must do more 
to ensure that all victims of crime are afforded their legal rights and 
provided with assistance as they face financial, physical and 
oftentimes psychological impacts of crime.
  When I first arrived in Washington almost 4 years ago, there was a 
lack of an advocacy group of behalf of victims' rights and issues. 
Congressman Ted Poe and I decided, as new Members, that we would put 
together a Victim Rights Caucus. We're very proud of the effects of 
this caucus in the first 4 years of its origin.
  The goals of our caucus are simple: One, to represent crime victims 
in the United States in a bipartisan effort by supporting legislation 
that reflects their interests and their needs.
  Two, to provide ongoing forum for proactive discussion between 
Congress and national victims assistance organizations to enhance 
mutual education, legislative advocacy and initiatives which promote 
justice for all, including, most importantly, the victims of crime.
  Three, to seek opportunities for education to public education 
initiatives to help those in the United States to understand the impact 
on crime on victims and to encourage their involvement in crime 
prevention, victim assistance and community safety.
  And, fourth, to protect the restitution fund that was initiated in 
the early 1980s. Those restitution funds go to the benefits of victims 
of crimes. Unfortunately, this administration has tried to redirect 
those restitution funds, which are not taxpayers dollars, but, in fact, 
criminal dollars, to the general fund. This Congress and the previous 
Congress prevented that from occurring.
  Our caucus has been very successful. We have authored legislation, 
and I want to thank Congressman Ted Poe for cochairing the caucus with 
me, and for all of the Members of the House of Representatives who 
belong to this caucus.
  Crime victims are our sons, our daughters, our brothers and our 
sisters, or neighbors and our friends. And they are struggling to 
survive in the aftermath of crime. They deserve our support.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), who before joining us here in Congress 
was a very distinguished judge who was recognized for his leadership in 
working to promote the interests of victims of crime.
  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Ohio 
yielding.
  Madam Speaker, victims of crime are real people. They are our 
friends, our relatives and our neighbors, and unfortunately, because of 
our culture, they have been for many years overlooked in the criminal 
justice system. Well, I think those days are over because they are as 
important as defendants, because the same Constitution that protects 
the rights of defendants in the courtroom, that same Constitution 
protects the rights of victims of crime.
  Since 1981, this country celebrates National Crime Victims' Rights 
Week in April. Local communities hold rallies and candlelight vigils 
and a number of other activities to honor the millions of crime victims 
and survivors in the United States and also to recognize those many 
individuals that work with crime victims.
  This week is National Crime Victims' Rights Week, and this year's 
theme is ``Justice for Victims, Justice for All.'' It is a very 
appropriate theme because we cannot achieve justice for all until there 
is some justice, total justice, for victims of crime.

[[Page H2280]]

  The victims' right movement has come a long way. The days when a 
victim was just a mere witness in the courthouse are not far gone.
  While we are always sure to safeguard the rights of defendants, our 
justice system must also safeguard the rights of victims of crime.
  The victims' rights movement dates all the way back to 1965 when the 
first crime victim compensation program was started in the State of 
California. Five States enacted similar legislation by 1970, and then 
we saw that organization, what we call the MADD mothers, Mothers 
Against Drunk Driving, come into being to advocate on behalf of victims 
of crime who had been hurt by those people who drink and drive.
  In 1975, activists across the country united and formed the National 
Organization for Victim Assistance to expand victim services and 
promote the rights of victims.
  In 1978, three more important organizations started: the National 
Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the National Coalition Against 
Domestic Violence, and a group of somber individuals called Parents of 
Murdered Children, all of them advocating on behalf of crime victims.
  President Reagan in 1981 proclaimed the first National Victims' 
Rights Week in April, and that was also the year that 6-year-old Adam 
Walsh was abducted from a department store and later murdered, 
prompting a national campaign to educate the public on missing children 
and to pass better legislation--Federal legislation, to protect our 
greatest natural resource, the young that live among us.
  In 1982, the Federal Government created the Office for Victims of 
Crime, or OVC, within the Department of Justice, a tremendous 
organization that sees after the victims of crime in our country.
  Then, in 1984, the Congress passed the Victims of Crime Act, what we 
call VOCA, one of the most novel concepts that Congress has ever 
adopted. What it does is require that people convicted in Federal 
courts, those defendants, once they are convicted, they pay moneys into 
a fund, and that fund is used to help crime victims throughout the 
United States. It is a tremendous idea, making defendants pay for the 
system they have created, pay the rent on a courthouse as I like to 
call it. And today, Madam Speaker, that fund is over $1.7 billion, 
contributed not by taxpayers but by offenders, that goes for the 
specific purpose of helping victims, helping victims' organizations 
like rape centers, domestic violence shelters, and victim advocates 
that help victims throughout the turmoil of being a crime victim.
  In 2005, my first year in Congress, I was honored to form the 
Victims' Rights Caucus with the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa), 
who was a long-time victims' advocate in the State of California before 
he ever came to Congress. And this bipartisan, but yet nonpartisan, 
caucus now has 44 members, and we do everything we can to raise the 
awareness of crime victims here in the Federal Government.
  In 2006, 25 years after Adam Walsh's murder that I just mentioned 
earlier, President Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and 
Safety Act, which requires sex offenders and child molesters, once they 
leave the Federal penitentiary or State penitentiaries, to register on 
the national database so that we keep up with those people who wish to 
prey on our communities.
  Madam Speaker, crime victims don't have a lobbyist up here in 
Washington. They don't have some high-dollar lobbyist to work for them 
and advocate on their behalf. But we are their lobbyists. We advocate 
on behalf of all crime victims because that's what we do here in 
Congress, to take and protect the best that we have among us, and 
that's crime victims.
  I urge community leaders and organizations to celebrate how far the 
victims' rights movement has come but also to continue to recognize the 
importance of crime victims that live among us because, Madam Speaker, 
justice is the one thing we should always find, and hopefully crime 
victims can find justice at the courthouse in our day and time.
  And that's just the way it is.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I wonder if the 
gentleman from Ohio has additional speakers.
  Mr. CHABOT. We have no additional speakers, and we would be happy to 
yield back our time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I would urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution. It's bipartisan. It's important.
  I just recalled, as I was listening to both Mr. Poe and Mr. Costa 
taking the lead and I thank them both for that, my more than 10 years 
on the Victim Witness Assistance Board, when I was in local government, 
and the tremendous need there is for people who have been victims and 
then who are also witnesses to receive the assistance from society that 
they need so much.
  So I appreciate the efforts of both gentlemen and our colleagues who 
are in this caucus and urge support.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) that the House suspend 
the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1053.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________