FY 2015 Funding Bill Includes Vital Investments to Benefit Survivors

December 16, 2014

Washington, DC — Last night, President Obama signed the Fiscal Year 2015 Funding bill (called the Cromnibus) which includes vital investments in programs that address domestic and sexual violence, including the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) fund, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA).

Specifically, the legislation releases an amount from the VOCA Crime Victims Fund which closely mirrors the fines and forfeitures deposited into the fund on an annual basis. This significantly increases the funding released and will begin to address the unconscionable gap between desperate need and available resources. NNEDV and allied advocacy organizations have been calling for this method of release and applaud Congressional leadership for aligning the funds released from VOCA with the funds deposited into the account.

“This change represents a new direction for the Crime Victims Fund, allowing it to keep pace with victims’ needs while maintaining the overall stability of the Fund,” said Kim Gandy, President and CEO of NNEDV. “We hope and anticipate that this method will be continued in subsequent years. Victims escaping abuse and violence are counting on Congress to distribute these non-tax funds in a manner that will meet their increasing needs.”

This change represents a new direction for the Crime Victims Fund, allowing it to keep pace with victims’ needs while maintaining the overall stability of the Fund.

In a survey of victim service programs, an overwhelming number reported a critical need for additional VOCA victim assistance funding. More than 80 percent of the 2,358 respondents said they “desperately” or “definitely” need additional VOCA victim assistance funds. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said that they would use more VOCA funds to simply sustain their current services while 86 percent said they would use the additional funds to offer services to more crime victims. The survey was sponsored by the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV), the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA), and the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC).

“On just one day in 2013, almost 10,000 requests for services went unmet because domestic violence service providers did not have the resources to meet the need,” said Gandy. “Increased VOCA funding will allow more victims to find the help they need when they are in crisis.”

The Crime Victims Fund was created in 1984 and supports crime victim services and crime victim compensation programs, which pay many of the out-of-pocket expenses of crime victims. The Crime Victims Fund is a special account funded by Federal criminal fines and penalties, not taxpayers. Because these offender revenues have already been paid into the Fund, spending is budget-neutral and does not add to the national debt or deficit.

NNEDV and victim advocates nationwide are applauding the leadership of the appropriators, specifically, Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Richard Shelby (AL), and Representatives Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Chaka Fattah (D-PA), and other congressional champions of VOCA funding, administration officials, crime victims, and advocacy organizations for this achievement.

“These hard-won increases reflect the leadership of key appropriators and the culmination of years of advocacy from the victims’ rights field,” said Gandy. “These key funding investments will make a difference in the lives of countless victims and their children. For that, we are grateful.” The FY 15 Appropriations law also includes modest, needed increases for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), although insufficient to keep pace with inflation. The FVPSA increases are the result of the leadership of Senators Tom Harkin and Jerry Moran and Representative Rosa DeLauro.