II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4879 

To curtail the use of changes in mandatory programs affecting the Crime 

Victims Fund to inflate spending. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 26 (legislative day, OCTOBER 19), 2020 

Mr. TOOMEY (for himself, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. RISCH, Mr. 

RUBIO, Mr. COTTON, and Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Budget 

A BILL 

To curtail the use of changes in mandatory programs 

affecting the Crime Victims Fund to inflate spending. 

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 2020’’. 

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 accounting for funds collected by the Crime Victims 


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1 Fund, but not disbursing the full amount provided 

2 for 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 victims of crime; 

10 (10) since fiscal year 2015, Congress has in11 creased disbursals from the Crime Victims Fund to 

12 victims of crime, but a permanent solution is nec13 essary to ensure consistent disbursals to victims of 

14 crime who rely on these funds every year; 

15 (11) under budget rules, Congress represents 

16 that the money it has already spent in prior years 

17 is still in the Crime Victims Fund and available for 

18 victims of crime; 

19 (12) it is time to restore fairness to crime vic20 tims; and 

21 (13) funds collected by the Crime Victims Fund 

22 should be used for services to and compensation of 

23 crime victims in accordance with the Victims of 

24 Crime Act of 1984. 


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

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

3 by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘PART C—ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON BUDG5 ETARY AND APPROPRIATIONS LEGISLATION 

6 ‘‘SEC. 441. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST CHANGES IN MANDA7 TORY PROGRAMS AFFECTING THE CRIME 

8 VICTIMS FUND. 

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

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

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(A) would have been estimated as affect13 ing direct spending or receipts under section 

14 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

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

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

17 provision was included in legislation other than 

18 an appropriation Act; and 

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

20 authority in the current year or the budget 

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

22 outlays over the period of the total of the cur23 rent year, the budget year, and all fiscal years 

24 covered under the most recently adopted con25 current resolution on the budget; 


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

2 Crime Victims Fund established under section 1402 

3 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 

4 20101); and 

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

6 the annual average amount that was deposited into 

7 the Crime Victims Fund during the 3-fiscal-year pe8 riod beginning on October 1 of the fourth fiscal year 

9 before the fiscal year to which a CHIMP affecting 

10 the Crime Victims Fund applies. 

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

12 ‘‘(1) POINT OF ORDER.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the Senate, it shall 

14 not be in order to consider a provision in a bill 

15 or joint resolution making appropriations for all 

16 or a portion of a fiscal year, or an amendment 

17 thereto, amendment between the Houses in re18 lation thereto, conference report thereon, or mo19 tion thereon, that contains a CHIMP that, if 

20 enacted, would cause the amount available for 

21 obligation during the fiscal year from the Crime 

22 Victims Fund to be less than the 3-year average 

23 amount. 

24 ‘‘(B) POINT OF ORDER SUSTAINED.—If a 

25 point of order is made by a Senator against a 


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1 provision described in subparagraph (A), and 

2 the point of order is sustained by the Chair, 

3 that provision shall be stricken from the meas4 ure and may not be offered as an amendment 

5 from the floor. 

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

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

8 Senator as provided in section 313(e). 

9 ‘‘(3) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—When the Sen10 ate is considering a conference report on, or an 

11 amendment between the Houses in relation to, a bill 

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

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

14 point of order being sustained, such material con15 tained in such conference report or House amend16 ment shall be stricken, and the Senate shall proceed 

17 to consider the question of whether the Senate shall 

18 recede from its amendment and concur with a fur19 ther amendment, or concur in the House amendment 

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

21 which further amendment shall consist of only that 

22 portion of the conference report or House amend23 ment, as the case may be, not so stricken. Any such 

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

25 in which such point of order is sustained against a 


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1 conference report (or Senate amendment derived 

2 from such conference report by operation of this 

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

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

5 In the Senate, this subsection may be waived or sus6 pended only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of 

7 the Members, duly chose and sworn. An affirmative 

8 vote of three-fifths of Members of the Senate, duly 

9 chosen and sworn shall be required to sustain an ap10 peal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order 

11 raised under this subsection. 

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

13 subsection, budgetary levels shall be determined on 

14 the basis of estimates provided by the Chairman of 

15 the Committee on the Budget of the Senate. 

16 ‘‘(c) POINT OF ORDER IN THE HOUSE OF REP17 RESENTATIVES.— 

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

19 joint resolution making appropriations for a fiscal 

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

21 cause the amount available for obligation during the 

22 fiscal year from the Crime Victims Fund to be less 

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

24 in the House of Representatives. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS AND CONFERENCE RE2 PORTS.—It shall not be in order in the House of 

3 Representatives to consider an amendment to, or a 

4 conference report on, a bill or joint resolution mak5 ing appropriations for a fiscal year if such amend6 ment thereto or conference report thereon proposes 

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

8 available for obligation during the fiscal year from 

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

10 average amount. 

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

12 subsection, budgetary levels shall be determined on 

13 the basis of estimates provided by the Chairman of 

14 the Committee on the Budget of the House of Rep15 resentatives.’’. 

16 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

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

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

19 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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