I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3984 

To prevent diversion of funds from the Crime Victims Fund. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Mr. PITTS (for himself and Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Rules, 

and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prevent diversion of funds from the Crime Victims Fund. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness for Crime 

5 Victims Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST CERTAIN CHANGES IN 

7 MANDATORY PROGRAMS AFFECTING THE 

8 CRIME VICTIMS FUND. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the Crime Victims Fund was created in 

2 1984, with the support of overwhelming bipartisan 

3 majorities in the House of Representatives and the 

4 Senate and the support of President Ronald Reagan, 

5 who signed the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (Pub6 lic Law 98–473) into law; 

7 (2) the Crime Victims Fund was created based 

8 on the principle that funds the Federal Government 

9 collects from those convicted of crime should be used 

10 to aid those who have been victimized by crime; 

11 (3) the Crime Victims Fund is funded from 

12 fines, penalties, and forfeited bonds in Federal court 

13 and private donations; 

14 (4) the Crime Victims Fund receives no tax15 payer dollars; 

16 (5) Federal law provides that funds deposited 

17 into the Crime Victims Fund shall be used to pro18 vide services to victims of crime in accordance with 

19 the Victims of Crime Act of 1984; 

20 (6) the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 gives pri21 ority to victims of child abuse, sexual assault, and 

22 domestic violence; 

23 (7) since fiscal year 2000, Congress has been 

24 taking funds collected by the Crime Victims Fund 


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1 and not disbursing the full amount provided for 

2 under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984; 

3 (8) over $10,000,000,000 has been withheld 

4 from victims of child abuse, sexual assault, domestic 

5 violence, and other crimes; 

6 (9) from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 

7 2014, the Crime Victims Fund collected 

8 $12,000,000,000, but Congress disbursed only 

9 $3,600,000,000 (or 30 percent) to crime victims; 

10 (10) under budget rules, Congress represents 

11 that the money it has already spent in prior years 

12 is still in the Crime Victims Fund and available for 

13 victims of crime; 

14 (11) Congress concludes that it is time to re15 store fairness to crime victims; and 

16 (12) Congress concludes that henceforth, funds 

17 collected by the Crime Victims Fund should be used 

18 for services to crime victims in accordance with the 

19 Victims of Crime Act of 1984. 

20 (b) AMENDMENT.—Title IV of the Congressional 

21 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART C—ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON BUDG2 ETARY AND APPROPRIATIONS LEGISLATION 

3 ‘‘SEC. 441. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST CHANGES IN MANDA4 TORY PROGRAMS AFFECTING THE CRIME 

5 VICTIMS FUND. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘CHIMP’ means a provision 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) would have been estimated as affect10 ing direct spending or receipts under section 

11 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

12 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 902) (as 

13 in effect prior to September 30, 2002) if the 

14 provision was included in legislation other than 

15 appropriation Acts; and 

16 ‘‘(B) results in a net decrease in budget 

17 authority in the current year or the budget 

18 year, but does not result in a net decrease in 

19 outlays over the period of the total of the cur20 rent year, the budget year, and all fiscal years 

21 covered under the most recently adopted con22 current resolution on the budget; 

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Crime Victims Fund’ means the 

24 Crime Victims Fund established under section 1402 

25 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 

26 10601); and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘3-year average amount’ means 

2 the annual average amount that was deposited into 

3 the Crime Victims Fund during the 3-fiscal-year pe4 riod beginning on October 1 of the fourth fiscal year 

5 before the fiscal year to which a CHIMP affecting 

6 the Crime Victims Fund applies. 

7 ‘‘(b) POINT OF ORDER IN THE SENATE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When the Senate is consid9 ering a bill or joint resolution making appropriations 

10 for a fiscal year, or an amendment thereto, amend11 ment between the Houses in relation thereto, con12 ference report thereon, or motion thereon, if a point 

13 of order is made by a Senator against a provision 

14 containing a CHIMP that, if enacted, would cause 

15 the amount available for obligation during the fiscal 

16 year from the Crime Victims Fund to be less than 

17 the 3-year average amount, and the point of order 

18 is sustained by the Chair, that provision shall be 

19 stricken from the measure and may not be offered 

20 as an amendment from the floor. 

21 ‘‘(2) FORM OF THE POINT OF ORDER.—A point 

22 of order under paragraph (1) may be raised by a 

23 Senator as provided in section 313(e). 

24 ‘‘(3) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—When the Sen25 ate is considering a conference report on, or an 


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1 amendment between the Houses in relation to, a bill 

2 or joint resolution, upon a point of order being made 

3 by any Senator pursuant to paragraph (1), and such 

4 point of order being sustained, such material con5 tained in such conference report or House amend6 ment shall be stricken, and the Senate shall proceed 

7 to consider the question of whether the Senate shall 

8 recede from its amendment and concur with a fur9 ther amendment, or concur in the House amendment 

10 with a further amendment, as the case may be, 

11 which further amendment shall consist of only that 

12 portion of the conference report or House amend13 ment, as the case may be, not so stricken. Any such 

14 motion in the Senate shall be debatable. In any case 

15 in which such point of order is sustained against a 

16 conference report (or Senate amendment derived 

17 from such conference report by operation of this 

18 subsection), no further amendment shall be in order. 

19 ‘‘(4) SUPERMAJORITY WAIVER AND APPEAL.— 

20 In the Senate, this subsection may be waived or sus21 pended only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of 

22 the Members, duly chosen and sworn. An affirmative 

23 vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, 

24 duly chosen and sworn shall be required to sustain 


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1 an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of 

2 order raised under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(5) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of this 

4 subsection, budgetary levels shall be determined on 

5 the basis of estimates provided by the Chairman of 

6 the Committee on the Budget of the Senate. 

7 ‘‘(c) POINT OF ORDER IN THE HOUSE OF REP8 RESENTATIVES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A provision in a bill or 

10 joint resolution making appropriations for a fiscal 

11 year that proposes a CHIMP that, if enacted, would 

12 cause the amount available for obligation during the 

13 fiscal year from the Crime Victims Fund to be less 

14 than the 3-year average amount shall not be in order 

15 in the House of Representatives. 

16 ‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS AND CONFERENCE RE17 PORTS.—It shall not be in order in the House of 

18 Representatives to consider an amendment to, or a 

19 conference report on, a bill or joint resolution mak20 ing appropriations for a fiscal year if such amend21 ment thereto or conference report thereon proposes 

22 a CHIMP that, if enacted, would cause the amount 

23 available for obligation during the fiscal year from 

24 the Crime Victims Fund to be less than the 3-year 

25 average amount. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of this 

2 subsection, budgetary levels shall be determined on 

3 the basis of estimates provided by the Chairman of 

4 the Committee on the Budget of the House of Rep5 resentatives.’’. 

6 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

7 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Congressional 

8 Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the item 

9 relating to section 428 the following: 

‘‘PART C—ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON BUDGETARY AND APPROPRIATIONS

LEGISLATION

‘‘Sec. 441. Point of order against changes in mandatory programs affecting the 

Crime Victims Fund.’’. 

Æ 


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