Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my friend and colleague, Senator Kyl, in introducing legislation that will ensure that monies in the Crime Victims Fund are used for their intended purpose, to help victims of crime.

Senator Kyl and I have long worked together to improve the treatment of victims in our criminal justice system. In 2004, we passed the Crime Victims' Rights Act. Because of that legislation, for the first time, victims were given the right to be heard in what is really their own case, and to participate in the proceedings against the accused.

The legislation we are introducing today will strengthen another area of federal law that has a profound impact on the ability of victims to navigate the criminal justice system. In 1984, Congress established the Crime Victims Fund to provide support for victim compensation and assistance programs. This past year, $37 million from the Crime Victims Fund was used to support over 300 victim-witness coordinators and specialists within the Department of Justice's 93 U.S. Attorney's Offices and the FBI's 56 field offices. These personnel advise victims of their rights, update victims on the status of criminal proceedings against the accused, and otherwise assist victims with understanding the operation of the judicial system.

However, it was recently brought to the attention of Senator Kyl and myself that these victim-witness coordinators and specialists are being asked to perform duties unrelated to the provision of services for victims. The diversion of funds from victim services prompted the National Organization for Victim Assistance to send a letter this past June, which I am submitting for the record, calling on Congress to clarify the purposes for which monies in the Crime Victims Fund may be used. Senator Kyl's and my legislation would do just that. It will make clear that resources available under the Crime Victims Fund may be used only to support services for victims.

A person who is a victim of a crime may have never stepped foot inside a courtroom or had any other interaction with our legal system prior to the commission of the crime. Yet, so much is at stake for that victim when the accused is prosecuted. Congress established the Crime Victims Fund to ensure that victims are able to fully participate in their case. We must make certain that 100 percent of these funds are used to support victims during their time of great need.

The legislation Senator Kyl and I are introducing today has already passed out of the Judiciary Committee as part of the Justice For All Reauthorization Act of 2011. While that broader legislation has unfortunately stalled, it is my hope that the Senate and House can quickly pass this one specific, uncontroversial piece, to ensure that victims of crime have all the support that they need and deserve.

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