Durbin, Graham Statement on House Passage of Legislation to Strengthen the Victims of Crime Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statements after the House of Representatives passed critical legislation to strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded.  This legislation, which Durbin and Graham are the lead authors of in the Senate, will redirect monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into the CVF to increase funding for state victim compensation and assistance programs.

“The House passed this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to strengthen the Victims of Crime Act, allowing many victims a chance to recover and rebuild their lives,” Durbin said.  “Now the Senate must act.”

“I appreciate the House voting to advance this important legislation,” said Graham.  “The fix in our bill keeps the Fund sustainable and ensures that survivors of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other crimes continue to receive the vital services they need both directly and through victim support programs. I am proud to be part of this overdue and much-needed change in policy and urge my Senate colleagues to vote to advance this legislation quickly.”

Along with Durbin and Graham, the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act is also cosponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Ed Markey (D-MA), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

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