[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3012-3013]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF 2007 NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS WEEK RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 31, 2007

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, as co-chair of the Congressional Victims' 
Rights Caucus, I rise today to introduce the 2007 National Crime 
Victims' Rights Week Resolution on behalf of myself and my caucus co-
chair, Congressman Ted Poe of Texas. This resolution expresses 
Congress's support of the goals and ideals of National Crime Victims' 
Rights Week and the efforts to increase public awareness of the rights, 
needs, and concerns of crime victims and survivors in the United 
States. This observance will take place the week of April 22 through 
April 28.
  In 1980, President Reagan first called for a national observance to 
recognize and honor the millions of crime victims and survivors in 
America. National Crime Victims' Rights Week also pays tribute to the 
thousands of community-based and system-based victim services providers 
and to the criminal justice and allied professionals who provide 
critical support and assistance to victims every day, of every week, of 
every single year. National Crime Victims' Rights Week has since been 
proclaimed annually with ceremonies and observances in Washington, DC, 
and in thousands of communities throughout our Nation.
  President Reagan's strong emphasis on the rights and needs of crime 
victims led to the passage of the Victims of Crime Act, which in 1984 
created the Crime Victims Fund. Since then, the Crime Victims Fund has 
dedicated more than $8 billion collected from criminal fines--not 
taxpayers' dollars--that annually supports more than 4,400 victim 
assistance programs serving some 3.8 million victims, and compensation 
to more than 165,000 victims for their unreimbursed medical expenses, 
lost wages and funeral costs. The adage, ``crime doesn't pay, victims 
do,'' is challenged by the VOCA fund, which rightfully holds offenders 
accountable for their criminal actions, with fines ensuring that crime 
victims receive the services and support they so greatly need and 
deserve. And the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus has worked since 
its inception to preserve the intent and integrity of the Crime Victims 
Fund as created by President Reagan nearly a quarter century ago.
  The 2007 National Crime Victims' Rights Week theme is ``Victims' 
Rights: Every Victim. Every Time.'' Today more than ever, these simple 
words resonate with greater importance than ever before. In the decade 
between 1994 and 2004, the National Crime Victimization Survey found 
that violent crime rates declined, reaching the lowest level ever 
recorded in 2005. Unfortunately last year, the FBI's Uniform Crime 
Reports reported that crime is, once again, on the rise--violent crime 
rose 3.7 percent; murders increased 1.4 percent; robberies were up 
nearly 10 percent; and arson increased by nearly 7 percent. This means 
more victims than ever suffer the indignation of crime, and have 
significant losses that affect them physically, emotionally, 
financially and spiritually. Our caucus and our Congress must recommit 
our energies to ensure that ``every victim of every crime'' has access 
to support and services.
  I know that my colleagues in Congress have heard a great deal about 
violence and victimization, and have heard from those who are directly 
affected:
  The teenage girl who leaves home for the first time to go to college, 
only to be drugged and raped at a campus party; or the young mother who 
is beaten by her husband on a regular basis, but fears leaving him 
because he's threatened to kill her kids, and she has no money, nor no 
place to go.
  ``Every victim. Every time.''
  Or the elderly man--no different from our parents--who is abused in a 
nursing home; or the parents whose only son is killed in a violent 
drunk driving crash.
  ``Every victim. Every time.''
  Or the horrific day that nobody will ever forget--September 11, 
2001--when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks 
against our Nation in New York, Pennsylvania, and right here in the 
shadow of our own Capitol.
  ``Every victim. Every time.''
  America is a nation known for its commitment to justice. Yet when we 
consider ``criminal justice,'' that's pretty much what it is about: 
justice for the criminal and, still too often, little consideration is 
given to justice for victims. National Crime Victims' Rights Week gives 
us the chance to talk about ``victim justice''--justice for innocent 
folks whose lives are irrevocably altered by crime. It gives Congress 
the opportunity to say, ``yes,'' every victim of every crime should 
receive information about their case; to say, ``of course'' every 
victim of every crime should be offered protective measures to make 
them feel safe; to say, ``absolutely,'' every victim of every crime 
that results in a conviction should receive restitution directly from 
the offenders who harmed them.
  America's victims' rights movement is leading our entire Nation in 
this direction. Today, victims of crime and those who serve them have 
not only a voice, but a vision for what justice should look like in 
America. Today, there are over 32,000 laws that define and protect 
victims' rights. We have over 10,000 organizations in our communities 
and in our systems of justice that help victims cope in the aftermath 
of crime, and help victims recover. Criminal justice is no longer all 
about the offender; it is rightfully becoming very much about the 
victims.
  I am proud to be one of the cofounders, along with Representative 
Poe, of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus. The goals of the 
Victims' Rights Caucus are to (1) represent crime victims in the United 
States through the bipartisan legislation that reflects their 
interests, rights and needs; (2) provide an ongoing forum for proactive 
interactions between the U.S. Congress and national victim assistance 
organizations to enhance mutual education, legislative advocacy and 
initiatives that promote justice for all--including victims of crime; 
and (3) seek opportunities for public education initiatives to help 
people in America to understand the impact of crime on victims, and to 
encourage their involvement in crime prevention, victim assistance, and 
community

[[Page 3013]]

safety. We have an Advisory Group of victims, survivors, victim 
advocates and justice professionals who serve as our ``eyes and ears'' 
to victims and survivors of crime, and they are not shy about letting 
us know what victims need.
  And we have learned that one thing victims need, the one thing that 
victims deserve, is recognition of their suffering, and recognition of 
their need for justice, and their need for supportive services. 
``Victims' Rights: Every Victim. Every Time.''
  This is what 2007 National Crime Victims' Rights Week is all about. 
And this is what Congress can commit to by passing the National Crime 
Victims' Rights Week resolution.

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