[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21985-21986]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RENT IS DUE ON THE COURTHOUSE

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 30, 2007

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, it's the first of the month--time to pay the 
rent at the courthouse. Unfortunately, the costs keep rising with the 
number of criminals held accountable for their crimes each year, but 
the good news is their victims have plenty of resources at their 
disposal as a result of the Victims of Crime Act, or better known as 
VOCA Fund. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Poe/
Costa/Moore(KS) Amendment to add more money to the VOCA Fund and 
continue to meet the needs of victims across our country.
  I have been an advocate for victims since my early days as a 
prosecutor with Harris County District Attorney's office. There are a 
few cases that have stood out in my career and influenced my life in a 
significant way. One such case was that of a young woman, who was as 
student at the University of Houston. She was the victim of a brutal 
rape and assault. She was abducted at gunpoint at a gas station, taken 
to a wooded area, raped, beaten, and left for dead. Through her brave 
determination, she was able to identify her attacker and I was assigned 
to prosecute him.
  Today, victims are assigned court advocates during the trial. Back 
then, she had no one. No one was there to help her through the 
emotional stress of a rape and the grueling task of confronting her 
attacker in court. She did it though, she got through the trial and we 
sent her attacker to the penitentiary for life. But her story wasn't 
over, you can't wrap it up with the bang of a gavel and nice neat bow.
  Because there were little-to-no resources available to victims at 
that time, she was not able to cope with the aftermath of her assault. 
You see, for the victim the ordeal is not over once the trial ends. It 
follows them day after day and spreads through their life like a cancer 
out of control. In the following months, her husband left her and sued 
her for custody of their two children--taking away the only two reasons 
worth living for.
  She spiraled out-of-control. Without anyone to turn to, and losing 
her family, she couldn't escape the pain. In a hand written note, that 
I keep with me to this day, she said ``I'm tired of running.'' Madam 
Speaker, the reality is, she didn't have anyone to run to and sadly 
ended her life. This ought not to be. This was a tragedy that could 
have been avoided, a tragedy that continues to influence my life and 
career.
  One of the first things I did as a Member of Congress was establish 
the bipartisan Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus to advocate and 
provide a voice for crime victims. I currently co-chair the Caucus with 
my good friend and victim crusader, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-20). 
There are caucuses for everything under the sun in D.C., but there was 
nothing that advocated solely for crime victims. It seems they are 
always the ones that are forgotten.
  The VOCA Fund is one of those things that is close to my heart and is 
something, like the victims it benefits, worth fighting for. Created by 
Congress in 1984 to provide Federal support to Federal, State, and 
local programs that assist victims of crime, VOCA provides assistance 
to over 4,400 agencies and 3.8 million victims every year. And it 
doesn't cost the taxpayers anything! The VOCA Fund is derived entirely 
from fines and penalties paid by offenders, not taxpayer revenues. But 
every year, we have to fight to keep it safe for victims. The 
Washington bureaucrats try to rob this fund for other pet projects.
  VOCA funds several important programs, such as domestic violence 
shelters, rape crisis centers, children protection agencies, and pays 
direct expenses to victims of violence, such as assault, rape, and 
child abuse.
  The Children's Assessment Center in Houston is a recipient of VOCA 
funding and is the very best of its kind. They take sexually assaulted 
kids and help them through the trauma of recovery and trial. The 
Houston Children's Assessment Center in Houston became the model for 
others across the country. The services they provide to children who 
have been victims of crime are invaluable and the most advanced methods 
used today. Without the knowledge and compassion of thousands of 
dedicated people who work on behalf of victims, more and more victims 
would end up like that young wife and mother that desperately tried to 
hold it together, but couldn't take the pain any longer.
  As a constant reminder, I keep that hand-written note on my desk. As 
a judge, it was my pleasure to hand down one of my many creative 
sentences and see how far we have come in recognizing the needs of 
victims. I have dedicated my life to helping victims and proudly serve 
on the Board of Directors for the Houston Children's Assessment Center 
and the National Children's Alliance in Washington D.C.
  Madam Speaker, criminals should continue to pay for the system they 
have created. They should pay for the expenses victims incur because of 
crime. Criminals need to pay the rent on the courthouse--crime victims 
have already paid enough. No more victims should run.

[[Page 21986]]

  And That's Just The Way It Is.

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