[Senate Report 116-40]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 84
116th Congress      }                                     {     Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session        }                                     {     116-40

======================================================================



 
 THE VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT OF 1984 TO SECURE URGENT RESOURCES VITAL TO 
            INDIAN VICTIMS OF CRIME, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

                  May 13, 2019.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Hoeven, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 211]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 211) to amend the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to 
secure urgent resources vital to Indian victims of crime, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim 
Empowerment (SURVIVE) Act will improve public safety and 
strengthen victim resources in tribal communities by amending 
the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) to create a grant 
program within the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for 
Victims of Crime (Office). The Director of the Office will 
administer grants to eligible Indian Tribes to provide needed 
victims' assistance.

                          SUMMARY OF THE BILL

    This bill, S. 211, will increase access to federal 
resources by utilizing 5% of the annual Congressional 
allocation from the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) for a tribal 
victim services grant program. Congress created the CVF, a 
budget neutral fund supported by fines and penalties collected 
from convicted Federal offenders, in 1984 with enactment of the 
VOCA to support services for victims of crime by providing 
funding to states to administer grants for crime victim 
assistance and compensation activities.
    Under the current CVF system, only states and U.S. 
territories receive federal CVF grants to administer victim 
support services. As a result, Tribes must apply for sub-grants 
through the state they are located in, and only a small portion 
of CVF funding--roughly 0.7% per year in recent years--reaches 
Native victims. This structure, which results in 
disproportionately low levels of CVF funding reaching Indian 
country, hinders Indian Tribes in their ability to provide 
services to victims of crime located within their lands.
    Each year, Congress sets the annual cap on the CVF so the 
funding allocation can increase or decrease as the legislative 
branch deems necessary. In FY 2018 with enactment of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Congress authorized a 
one-time allocation for Indian Tribes to receive 3% ($133 
million) directly from the CVF to improve services for 
victims.\1\ Congress, through the passage of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2019, set the FY 2019 CVF funding cap at 
$3.353 billion. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, 
included a tribal CVF set-aside for FY 2019 and increased the 
level reserved for Indian Tribes to 5% ($167.65 million).\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-141 
(2018).
    \2\Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, Pub. L. No. 116-6 (2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The grant program created by the SURVIVE Act parallels 
existing Federal VOCA regulations and guidance that govern 
critical victim assistance, services, and infrastructure in 
statute. Eligible services and infrastructure under the SURVIVE 
Act include operation of domestic violence shelters; delivery 
of medical care, counseling, legal assistance and services, and 
providing child and elder abuse prevention and treatment 
programs. By providing flexibility in the SURVIVE grant 
program, Indian Tribes will be able to boost baseline victim 
service delivery in Indian country and improve access to 
greatly needed culturally appropriate, community-specific 
services.
    Additionally, the SURVIVE Act provides for significant 
confidentiality and privacy protections so that victims of 
crime feel safe when receiving services funded by the grant. 
The bill requires all grantees to submit annual reporting to 
the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime, which 
administers VOCA grants to conduct regular monitoring and 
review of the grant program. This monitoring will also provide 
an opportunity for the Department of Justice and Indian Tribes 
to review the effectiveness of the SURVIVE grant structure and 
improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
    The SURVIVE Act also mirrors the VOCA requirements of 
participation and implementation that recipients must provide 
services to all victims. As such, the bill ensures that SURVIVE 
grantees will increase access to crime victim services for 
everyone residing in or near remote Tribal communities, 
regardless of the Native or non-Native status of crime victims.
    The bill, S. 211, reflects the language reported by the 
Committee in the 115th Congress and incorporates the following 
technical corrections:
         Edited the capitalization of ``Tribe'' and 
        ``Tribal'' to conform to new Government Printing Office 
        style guidance;
         Changed the initial reporting year in section 
        1404G(e)(3) of the Victims of Crime Act from 2017 to 
        ``the first fiscal year beginning after the date of 
        enactment of this section'' to align with the timeline 
        for grants under that section; and
         Amended section 2 so that section 1404G(e)(4) 
        of the Victims of Crime Act more clearly defines 
        compliance requirements for the recipient or sub-
        recipient.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On January 24, 2019, Senator Hoeven introduced S. 211, the 
Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment 
Act (SURVIVE Act), with original cosponsors Senators Udall, 
Barrasso, Cortez Masto, Daines, Murkowski, Smith, and Tester. 
On January 29, 2019, Senator Cantwell joined as a cosponsor of 
the bill. The Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate held a 
duly called business meeting on January 29, 2019, to consider 
twelve bills, including S. 211. No amendments were filed to S. 
211. The Committee passed all twelve bills, including S. 211, 
en bloc by voice vote and ordered the bills to be reported 
favorably. On February 4, 2019, Senators McSally and Warren 
were added as cosponsors. On February 12, 2019, Senator Merkley 
was added as a cosponsor. On March 4, 2019, Senator Sullivan 
was added as a cosponsor. On March 11, 2019, Senator Cramer was 
added as a cosponsor. On March 25, 2019, Senator Stabenow was 
added as a cosponsor.
    On March 25, 2019, Representatives O'Halleran, Cole, 
Haaland, and Don Young introduced H.R. 1351, a companion bill 
to S. 211, which the House of Representatives referred to the 
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the 
Committee on the Judiciary. Since introduction, Representatives 
Moore, McCollum, Jayapal, Aguilar, Pocan, Kildee, Gallego, 
Kuster, Ocasio-Cortez, and Titus have joined the bill as 
cosponsors. No further action has been taken on the bill.
    115th Congress. On September 27, 2017, Senator Hoeven 
introduced S. 1870, the SURVIVE Act. This bill was cosponsored 
by Senators Barrasso, Cortez Masto, Daines, Duckworth, Franken, 
Heitkamp, McCain, Murkowski, Murray, Stabenow, Tester, Udall, 
and Warren.
    The Committee held a legislative hearing on S. 1870 on 
October 25, 2017. At the legislative hearing, officials from 
the Departments of the Interior and Justice testified in favor 
of the bill. The Committee held a duly called business meeting 
on December 6, 2017 to consider S. 1870. No amendments were 
filed to the bill. At the business meeting, the Committee 
ordered the bill to be reported favorably without amendment. 
Senator Hoeven reported S. 1870 on April 9, 2018, but the 
Senate took no further action on the bill during the 115th 
Congress.
    On December 11, 2017, Representatives O'Halleran, Cole, 
Sinema, and Young introduced H.R. 4608, a companion bill to S. 
1870, which the House of Representatives referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary. The Committee subsequently referred 
the bill to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland 
Security on January 22, 2018. Following introduction and 
referral, Representatives Moore, Grijalva, Issa, Pallone, 
Norton, McCollum, Cramer, Pocan, Bergman, Lujan, Raskin, 
Jayapal, Aguilar, and Kildee joined the bill as cosponsors. 
However, the House took no further action on the bill during 
the 115th Congress.
    114th Congress. Senator Barrasso introduced S. 1704, the 
SURVIVE Act, a similar bill to S. 1870 that was introduced this 
past Congress. That bill, S. 1704, was cosponsored by Senators 
Daines, Heitkamp, Hoeven, McCain, Moran, Murkowski, Schatz, 
Tester, and Udall. On June 10, 2015, the Committee held an 
oversight hearing on addressing the need for crime victim 
services in Indian Country. The Committee ordered S. 1704 to be 
reported favorably with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. No further action was taken on S. 1704.
    No Member of the House of Representatives introduced a 
companion bill to S. 1704 during the 114th Congress.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 states that the Act may be cited as the 
``Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment 
Act'' or ``SURVIVE Act.''

Sec. 2. Indian victims of crime

    Section 2 amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 
U.S.C. 20101 et seq.) to create a grant program for Indian 
Tribes within the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of 
Crime (Office).
    This section directs the Office to make grants to eligible 
Indian Tribes for a range of crime victim service activities. 
Funds obtained through this program may be expended over a 
period of five years and shall not be subject to matching 
requirements. Any sums that are unobligated at the end of the 
five-year period must be returned to the Office and made 
available for Indian crime victim service activities in the 
following fiscal year.
    This section specifies that in order to be eligible to 
access grants under this program, an Indian tribe must submit 
in writing a detailed victim assistance proposal, according to 
listed requirements. Any Indian tribe that receives a grant 
under this program must also submit an annual report to the 
Office describing the purpose for which grant funds were used.
    This section provides explicit oversight and enforcement 
authorities and duties to the Office, including requiring the 
Office to engage in regular monitoring, reviews, 
investigations, and audits. The Office must also ensure that 
all grants are subject to performance measures and enforceable 
agreements that allow for thorough program oversight. The 
Director of the Office for Victims of Crime (Director) must 
provide annual compliance reports on all grants awarded under 
this program to appropriate committees of Congress.
    This section provides significant confidentiality and 
privacy protections for crime victims, including restrictions 
on reporting and sharing personally identifying information of 
crime victims.
    This section specifies that grants awarded under this 
program and related administrative costs shall be supported 
with funds in the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). It amends Section 
1402(d) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 
10601(d)) to require 5% of the CVF funds made available for 
obligation in a fiscal year to be available to the Director for 
the Indian tribal grant program. The Office may not use more 
than 4% of these funds for grant administration and technical 
assistance costs.
    The grant program will sunset after a period of ten years.

Sec. 3. Regulations regarding Indian Tribes

    Section 3 provides that any rule, regulation, or guidance 
promulgated before enactment shall have no force or effect with 
respect to the Indian tribal grant program established under 
this Act.
    This section requires the Director to issue implementing 
regulations through negotiated rulemaking, after consultation 
with Indian Tribes, no later than 1 year after this Act is 
enacted.
    This section requires the Director to consult with no less 
than two Indian Tribes from each Bureau of Indian Affairs 
region, and that small, medium, and large land-based Tribes are 
represented during the negotiated rulemaking.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated February 8, 2019, was 
prepared for S. 211:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, February 8, 2019.
Hon. John Hoeven,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 211, the SURVIVE 
Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    S. 211 would establish a program within the Department of 
Justice to make grants to Indian tribes to provide services to 
crime victims, including medical care, counseling, and legal 
services. For each of the 10 fiscal years after enactment, the 
bill would set aside 5 percent of the amounts available in the 
Crime Victims Fund for those grants (spending from that fund is 
considered direct spending).
    CBO's baseline projects that all balances and new deposits 
into the Crime Victims Fund will be spent under current law 
(mostly for existing grant programs); thus, enacting the bill 
would not increase total outlays from the fund. Enacting the 
bill could affect the timing of outlays but those effects would 
not be significant in any year over the 2019-2029 period.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes S. 211 will have 
minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 211.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    On February 6, 2019, the Committee unanimously approved a 
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the Committee, it is 
necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of the 
Senate.

                                  [all]