[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 41 (Thursday, March 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1121-S1122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lee, Mr. 
        Booker, and Mr. Tillis):
  S. 601. A bill to amend section 3661 of title 18, United States Code, 
to prohibit the consideration of acquitted conduct at sentencing; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 601

       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 ``Prohibiting Punishment of 
     Acquitted Conduct Act of 2021''.

[[Page S1122]]

  


     SEC. 2. ACQUITTED CONDUCT AT SENTENCING.

       (a) Use of Information for Sentencing.--
       (1) Amendment.--Section 3661 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting ``, except that a court of the 
     United States shall not consider, except for purposes of 
     mitigating a sentence, acquitted conduct under this section'' 
     before the period at the end.
       (2) Applicability.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
     shall apply only to a judgment entered on or after the date 
     of enactment of this Act.
       (b) Definitions.--Section 3673 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``As'' and inserting the following:
       ``(a) As''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) As used in this chapter, the term `acquitted conduct' 
     means--
       ``(1) an act--
       ``(A) for which a person was criminally charged and 
     adjudicated not guilty after trial in a Federal, State, or 
     Tribal court; or
       ``(B) in the case of a juvenile, that was charged and for 
     which the juvenile was found not responsible after a juvenile 
     adjudication hearing; or
       ``(2) any act underlying a criminal charge or juvenile 
     information dismissed--
       ``(A) in a Federal court upon a motion for acquittal under 
     rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; or
       ``(B) in a State or Tribal court upon a motion for 
     acquittal or an analogous motion under the applicable State 
     or Tribal rule of criminal procedure.''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Graham, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
        Grassley, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. 
        Murkowski, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Ernst, Mr. 
        Brown, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Hirono, Mrs. 
        Shaheen, Ms. Warren, Ms. Smith, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
        Tester, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Casey, Ms. Cortez Masto, and Mr. 
        Portman):
  S. 611. A bill to deposit certain funds into the Crime Victims Fund, 
to waive matching requirements, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 611

       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 ``VOCA Fix to Sustain the 
     Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE FIX OF CRIME VICTIMS FUND AND 
                   COMPENSATION.

       (a) Crime Victims Fund.--Section 1402 of the Victims of 
     Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20101) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
     semicolon;
       (B) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(6) any funds that would otherwise be deposited in the 
     general fund of the Treasury collected pursuant to--
       ``(A) a deferred prosecution agreement; or
       ``(B) a non-prosecution agreement.''; and
       (2) in subsection (e), by striking ``Director'' and 
     inserting ``Director, except that renewals and extensions 
     beyond that period may be granted at the discretion of the 
     Attorney General''.
       (b) Crime Victim Compensation.--Section 1403 of the Victims 
     of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20102) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``40 percent in fiscal 
     year 2002 and of 60 percent in subsequent fiscal years'' and 
     inserting ``75 percent'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``of 40 percent in fiscal 
     year 2002 and of 60 percent in subsequent fiscal years'';
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
       (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(3) For the purposes of calculating amounts awarded in 
     the previous fiscal year under this subsection, the Director 
     shall not require eligible crime victim compensation programs 
     to deduct recovery costs or collections from restitution or 
     from subrogation for payment under a civil lawsuit.'';
       (2) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ``authorities;'' and 
     inserting ``authorities, except if a program determines such 
     cooperation may be impacted due to a victim's age, physical 
     condition, psychological state, cultural or linguistic 
     barriers, or any other health or safety concern that 
     jeopardizes the victim's wellbeing;''; and
       (3) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
     semicolon;
       (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) the term `recovery costs' means expenses for 
     personnel directly involved in the recovery efforts to obtain 
     collections from restitution or from subrogation for payment 
     under a civil law suit.''.

     SEC. 3. WAIVER OF MATCHING REQUIREMENT.

       (a) In General.--Section 1404(a) of the Victims of Crime 
     Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20103(a)) is amended by inserting at 
     the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(7)(A) Each chief executive may waive a matching 
     requirement imposed by the Director, in accordance with 
     subparagraph (B), as a condition for the receipt of funds 
     under any program to provide assistance to victims of crimes 
     authorized under this chapter. The chief executive shall 
     report to the Director the approval of any waiver of the 
     matching requirement.
       ``(B) Each chief executive shall establish and make public, 
     a policy including--
       ``(i) the manner in which an eligible crime victim 
     assistance program can request a match waiver;
       ``(ii) the criteria used to determine eligibility of the 
     match waiver; and
       ``(iii) the process for decision making and notifying the 
     eligible crime victim assistance program of the decision.''.
       (b) National Emergency Waiver.--Section 1404(a) of the 
     Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20103(a)), as amended 
     by subsection (a), is further amended by inserting at the end 
     the following new paragraph:
       ``(8) Beginning on the date a national emergency is 
     declared under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 
     et seq.) with respect to a pandemic and ending on the date 
     that is one year after the date of the end of such national 
     emergency, each chief executive shall issue waivers for any 
     matching requirement, in its entirety, for all eligible crime 
     victim assistance programs contracted to provide services at 
     that time.''.

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