Legislation introduced by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and is headed for the full Senate. The proposed legislation protects funds for programs that assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Crapo and Leahy sponsored the Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act to protect essential services to victims under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).
The VOCA law established a dedicated fund comprised of criminal fines and penalties collected that has become a key source of support for local violence and assault response programs. But Crapo noted those funds have come under fire almost every year as Congress redirects these “dedicated” funds from the intended recipients to other unrelated federal programs. The Crapo-Leahy bill would rededicate these funds back to victim support programs.
Continue reading the press release here.
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Please continue to protect and save VAWA and VOCA funding – we are so in need!!