[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.

                          ____________________