[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 118 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4654-H4656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VICTIMS' VOICES OUTSIDE AND INSIDE THE COURTROOM EFFECTIVENESS ACT
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 3706) to amend section 3663A of title 18, United States Code,
to clarify that restitution includes necessary and reasonable expenses
incurred by a person who has assumed the victim's rights.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3706
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 ``Victims' Voices Outside and
Inside the Courtroom Effectiveness Act'' or the ``Victims'
VOICES Act''.
SEC. 2. RESTITUTION FOR EXPENSES OF PERSONS WHO HAVE ASSUMED
THE VICTIM'S RIGHTS.
Section 3663A(a) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Clarification.--In ordering restitution under this
section, a court shall order the defendant to make
restitution to a person who has assumed the victim's rights
under paragraph (2) to reimburse that person's necessary and
reasonable--
``(A) lost income, child care, transportation, and other
expenses incurred during and directly related to
participation in the investigation or prosecution of the
offense or attendance at proceedings related to the offense;
``(B) lost income, transportation, and other expenses
incurred that are directly related to transporting the victim
for necessary medical and related professional services and
devices relating to physical, psychiatric, and psychological
care, including nonmedical care and treatment rendered in
accordance with a method of healing recognized by the law of
the place of treatment; and
``(C) lost income, transportation, and other expenses
incurred that are directly related to transporting the victim
to receive necessary physical and occupational therapy and
rehabilitation.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Wyoming (Ms. Hageman) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming.
General Leave
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 3706.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Wyoming?
There was no objection.
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill we are here today to pass brings much-needed
support to crime victims across the country. The bipartisan and
bicameral Victims' Voices Outside and Inside the Courtroom
Effectiveness Act, or Victims' VOICES Act, passed the Senate through
unanimous consent. I am proud to be the House lead on this important
legislation.
{time} 1645
I thank my friend and colleague across the aisle, Representative Lucy
McBath, for her work on this legislation and for her continued advocacy
on behalf of victims.
[[Page H4655]]
I will also take a moment to remember and acknowledge Ms. Jackson
Lee. She was a cosponsor of the bill and a longtime advocate for the
rights of crime victims. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.
The purpose of the Victims' VOICES Act is simple: It assures fairness
for all crime victims in accessing and receiving restitution from
convicted defendants.
Supporting victims and holding criminals accountable has always been
a top priority of Congress. In 1996, the Mandatory Victims Restitution
Act was signed into law and required defendants convicted of certain
crimes, including violent crime, to pay restitution to their victims.
These types of restitution can include lost income, childcare costs
incurred while participating in the investigation, or medical and
nonmedical care and treatment. In cases where a victim is a minor,
deceased, or unable to act on their own behalf, a family member, legal
guardian, or a person appointed by the court may assume the victim's
rights.
However, many jurisdictions have wrongfully ruled these individuals
are precluded from receiving restitution for their own lost income or
expenses.
Parents, who lovingly cared for their child who was the victim of a
crime, may not receive compensation for taking time off of work to help
their child heal. Family members whose loved ones did not survive a
brutal attack may not receive restitution.
This is wrong. We should be thanking these brave and thoughtful
citizens. Instead, the government is casting them aside.
This is an especially concerning issue in crimes of violence and in
Tribal communities, like my district, where locating and protecting
missing and exploited women and children is a major challenge.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 3706, the Victims' Voices Outside and Inside the
Courtroom Effectiveness Act, or the Victims' VOICES Act, is bipartisan
legislation that would amend the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act to
make certain family members, friends, legal guardians, and others
eligible to receive repayment for expenses incurred as a result of
helping victims of crime seek justice and restorative care.
While the intention of the MVRA is to ensure that victims of violent
crime, crimes against property, and other crimes are compensated by
defendants for their losses, the limitations placed on who may receive
restitution can create unfair consequences for those who have provided
much-needed support to victims.
That is why it has become necessary for Congress to consider the
broader impact of the diverse judicial interpretations of the MVRA on
those individuals who play a vital role in helping victims recover and
heal.
Victims of crime often experience a range of emotional, physical, and
psychological challenges that can make it difficult to navigate the
complex, legal, and therapeutic processes involved in pursuing justice
and healing.
In the wake of these crimes, particularly violent crimes, support
from family members, friends, legal guardians, and others is crucial
for victims not only to actively participate in the investigation and
prosecution of their cases, but to receive the medical care,
psychological treatment, and other support services that they so
desperately need.
These exceptional people play a critical role in providing comfort
and assistance to victims of crime, which requires significant time and
effort. Oftentimes, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, guardians, and
best friends take on the daunting responsibility of transporting their
loved ones over several weeks and months or sometimes even years to
meet with investigators and prosecutors or to receive treatment,
therapy, or other services.
They sit through monthslong trials, sentencing hearings, and other
court proceedings alongside their traumatized loved ones, providing
support and encouragement while spending countless hours away from
their jobs, needing additional childcare, and spending huge amounts of
money on travel.
Unfortunately, several jurisdictions have refused to allow repayment
of the money spent or not earned by family members and others who they
have determined do not meet the MVRA's definition of ``victim.''
Despite recognizing the good policy reasons for allowing a court to
order reimbursement to a victim's representative for such expenditures,
the Sixth, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits, as well as many lower courts,
have held that the language of the MVRA limits restitution to losses
incurred only by victims and not by those who help them. We must not
allow this injustice to persist.
It is, therefore, necessary that Congress makes clear that family
members and others should receive compensation for the costs they have
incurred as a result of aiding victims of crime as they traverse the
lengthy and often overwhelming path to justice.
This legislation would satisfy this objective by clarifying that
restitution should be made to family members and others in the same
manner as victims for lost income, childcare, transportation, and other
expenses incurred to participate in an investigation or prosecution,
attend proceedings, or transport the victim for medical care,
treatment, or therapy.
By ensuring that courts are authorized to order restitution in this
manner, this legislation would encourage the provision of support to
victims and ensure perpetrators of crime are made to pay for all of the
losses they cause while advancing fairness, accountability, and
justice.
I commend the sponsor of the House version of this bill, Ms. Hageman,
along with her bipartisan lead Cosponsors, Representatives Lucy McBath,
Hank Johnson, and Nathaniel Moran for their efforts, along with the
Senate sponsors of this bill.
I encourage my colleagues to join me and a broad coalition of
victims' advocacy groups and law enforcement in support of this
thoughtful, bipartisan legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, those families and the victims of crime
should not be discriminated against. Our men and women in blue agree.
This legislation is endorsed and supported by law enforcement
organizations and victims' rights groups, including the National
District Attorneys Association, RAVEN, National Children's Alliance,
Major County Sheriffs of America, RAINN, and the National Native
American Law Enforcement Association.
Let's work together by lightening the burden for victims and their
families and making it easier to finally access justice.
Again, I thank Representative McBath for co-leading this bill with me
in the House and I thank Senator Cornyn for his leadership on this
important effort in the Senate.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on S. 3706, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, family members, legal guardians, and others
work closely with victims of crime as they work to resolve the trauma
of their victimization and the offenses committed against them. Having
a strong support system can help victims feel empowered and less
isolated in their experiences, which can ultimately strengthen their
resolve to participate in the investigation and prosecution of the
crime, and to seek treatment for injuries seen and unseen.
S. 3706, the Victims' VOICES Act would authorize courts to order
defendants to pay restitution not only to victims of crime for their
losses, but also to others for the costs they incur as they stand with
victims in the pursuit of justice. I support this bipartisan
legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, the victims and their families should
receive full restitution when they are the victims of crimes. It is for
that reason that I have supported and am sponsoring S. 3706, and I urge
my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms.
[[Page H4656]]
Hageman) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 3706.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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