Leahy Panel Hears Testimony From Vermont Witnesses
During National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
WASHINGTON (Tuesday,
April 28, 2009) – Two Vermonters testified Tuesday at a hearing on
Capitol Hill chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The
hearing, “The
Victims of Crime Act: 25 Years of Protecting and Supporting Victims,”
included testimony from
Susan Russell of Warren Vermont, a crime victim survivor, and
Judy Rex, the Executive Director of the Vermont Center for Crime
Victim Services.
This week is National
Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and 2009 is the 25th anniversary
of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which established the Crime Victims’
Fund. The Fund serves roughly four million crime victims every
year, including victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child
abuse, elder abuse, and drunk driving, as well as survivors of homicide
victims. Notably, the Crime Victims’ Fund does not depend on
taxpayer revenues; it is supported from federal crime fines, penalties,
bonds and private donates. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary
Committee, and has worked in past years to preserve the Fund, which the
last administration tried to eliminate.
Russell is a crime
victim survivor and currently serves as a criminal justice and victim
services consultant. She holds a Certificate from the National
Victim Assistance Academy and Vermont’s Victim Assistance Academy.
She is also a National Organization for Victim Assistance credentialed
Victim Advocate. She testified about her experience with the Crime
Victims’ Fund, and about crime victims’ need for support from the
criminal justice system.
Rex has worked on
behalf of crime victims in Vermont for 25 years and is currently the
Vermont State VOCA Administrator.
An archived webcast
of the hearing will be available
online later today, and video will be available via satellite at
4:15 p.m.
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Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Committee On The Judiciary,
“The Victims Of Crime Act: 25 Years Of Protecting And Supporting
Victims”
April 28, 2009
This past Sunday
marked the start of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Since
1981, here in Washington and in communities across the Nation, people
have observed this week with candlelight vigils and public rallies to
renew our commitment to crime victims and their families. It is
vitally important that we recognize the needs of crime victims and their
family members, and work together to promote victims’ rights and
services.
This year we also
celebrate the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the
Victims of Crime Act. I was honored to support the passage of the
Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA), which has been the principal means
by which the Federal Government has supported essential services for
crime victims and their families. The Victims of Crime Act
provides grants for direct services to victims, such as state crime
victim compensation programs, emergency shelters, crisis intervention,
counseling, and assistance in participating in the criminal justice
system. All these services and our Federal contribution to state
crime victim compensation programs do not cost Federal taxpayers one
dime. These services are all funded from a reserve fund created
from the fines and penalties paid by Federal criminal offenders.
A number of us have
worked hard over the years to protect the Crime Victims Fund.
State victim compensation and assistance programs serve nearly four
million crime victims each year, including victims of violent crime,
domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, and drunk
driving. The Crime Victims Fund makes these programs possible and
has helped hundreds of thousands of victims of violent crime.
Several years ago, I
worked to make sure that the Crime Victims Fund would be there in good
times, and in bad. We made sure it had a “rainy day” capacity so
that in lean years, victims and their advocates would not have to worry
that the Crime Victims Fund would run out of money and they would be
left stranded. More recently, an annual cap has been set on the
level of funding to be spent from the fund in a given year. When
this cap was established, and when President Bush then sought to empty
the Crime Victims Fund of unexpended funds, I joined with Senator Crapo
and others from both political parties to make sure that the Crime
Victims Fund was preserved. These resources are appropriately set
aside to assist victims of crime and their families. We have had
to work hard to protect the Crime Victims Fund, and I have consistently
supported raising the spending cap.
This hearing is
particularly timely, because now more than ever it is important to
protect the Fund and ensure that crime victims and victim service
professionals have the resources they need. Crime typically rises
during tough economic times. Crisis centers and hotlines are
reporting an alarming increase in victimization nationwide. The
rising unemployment rate means victims are less likely to have insurance
to cover their crime-related expenses. The economic downturn
has also resulted in limits on state government funding and significant
decreases in private giving. The Crime Victims Fund is more
important than ever. Working with Senators on both sides of the
aisle, I hope that we are able to raise the cap this coming year in
order to devote more than $700 million from the Crime Victims Fund to
crime victims across the nation.
I want to commend
Senator Mikulski, the Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science
Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Shelby, the Ranking Member, for
working with the President to provide $100 million in the economic
recovery package for crime victims. That additional funding is
sorely needed right now until we can raise the cap for the coming year.
I look forward to working with Senator Mikulski, Senator Crapo, and many
other interested Senators on this initiative to provide increased
funding for crime victims and their families in the years ahead.
Again, I emphasize that it does not cost a dime of taxpayer funds but
will come exclusively from Federal criminal fines and penalties.
Now is the time honor
the spirit of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by raising the cap to
support the most vulnerable Americans who need our help today. We
should not allow those already victimized by crime to also become
victims of our struggling economy.
I look forward to
hearing from our witnesses, who bring important perspectives and
experience on this subject. Two of our witnesses join us from
Vermont. I want to welcome Susan Russell who travelled to
Washington from Vermont to share her incredible story. Her courage
and strength is an inspiration to us all. Also, Judy Rex, whom I
have known for many years, is a leader for crime victims’ rights in
Vermont. I also want to welcome back to the Committee Mary Lou
Leary, from the National Center for Victims of Crime, Steve Derene from
the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, and R. Keith
Perkins from the Never Again Foundation.
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