II 

Calendar No. 158 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1495 

[Report No. 114–87] 

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

Victims Fund to inflate spending. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2015 

Mr. TOOMEY (for himself, Mr. CORKER, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. 

HATCH, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. 

COTTON, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. ENZI, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. 

RISCH, Mr. FLAKE, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget 

JULY 21, 2015 

Reported by Mr. ENZI, without amendment 

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 2015’’. 


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

2 MANDATORY PROGRAMS AFFECTING THE 

3 CRIME VICTIMS FUND. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the Crime Victims Fund was created in 

6 1984, with the support of overwhelming bipartisan 

7 majorities in the House of Representatives and the 

8 Senate and the support of President Ronald Reagan, 

9 who signed the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (Pub10 lic Law 98–473) into law; 

11 (2) the Crime Victims Fund was created based 

12 on the principle that funds the Federal Government 

13 collects from those convicted of crime should be used 

14 to aid those who have been victimized by crime; 

15 (3) the Crime Victims Fund is funded from 

16 fines, penalties, and forfeited bonds in Federal court 

17 and private donations; 

18 (4) the Crime Victims Fund receives no tax19 payer dollars; 

20 (5) Federal law provides that funds deposited 

21 into the Crime Victims Fund shall be used to pro22 vide services to victims of crime in accordance with 

23 the Victims of Crime Act of 1984; 

24 (6) the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 gives pri25 ority to victims of child abuse, sexual assault, and 

26 domestic violence; 


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

2 taking funds collected by the Crime Victims Fund 

3 and not disbursing the full amount provided for 

4 under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984; 

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

6 from victims of child abuse, sexual assault, domestic 

7 violence, and other crimes; 

8 (9) from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 

9 2014, the Crime Victims Fund collected 

10 $12,000,000,000, but Congress disbursed only 

11 $3,600,000,000 (or 30 percent) to crime victims; 

12 (10) under budget rules, Congress represents 

13 that the money it has already spent in prior years 

14 is still in the Crime Victims Fund and available for 

15 victims of crime; 

16 (11) Congress concludes that it is time to re17 store fairness to crime victims; and 

18 (12) Congress concludes that henceforth, funds 

19 collected by the Crime Victims Fund should be used 

20 for services to crime victims in accordance with the 

21 Victims of Crime Act of 1984. 

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

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

24 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 chose and sworn. An affirmative 

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

24 chosen and sworn shall be required to sustain an apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1495.RS S1495

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1 peal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order 

2 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.’’. 


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Calendar No. 158 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1495 

[Report No. 114–87] 

A BILL 

To curtail the use of changes in mandatory proflate spending. grams affecting the Crime Victims Fund to inJULY 21, 2015 

Reported without amendment 


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