II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3490 

To dedicate funds from the Crime Victims Fund to victims of elder abuse, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2012 

Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts (for himself and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced 

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

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To dedicate funds from the Crime Victims Fund to victims 

of elder abuse, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Stop Abuse, Violence, 

5 and Exploitation of Elders Act of 2012’’ or the ‘‘SAVE 

6 Elders Act of 2012’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) The population of individuals age 65 or 

10 older in the United States is growing and is estiVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:38 Aug 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3490.IS S3490

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mated to reach 1 1 ⁄5 of the total population of the 

2 United States by the year 2030. 

3 (2) According to a 2011 report by the Govern4 ment Accountability Office, during a recent year, 1 

5 out of every 7 older individuals living in a home or 

6 community-based setting experienced some form of 

7 elder abuse. 

8 (3) According to a report by the Bureau of Jus9 tice Statistics, ‘‘Criminal Victimization in the United 

10 States, 2008’’, 54 percent of crimes involving victims 

11 age 65 or older are unreported. 

12 (4) The Crime Victims Fund, which was estab13 lished to support victims of crime— 

14 (A) is funded by the proceeds of forfeited 

15 bonds, criminal penalty assessments, and fines 

16 collected from persons convicted of offenses 

17 against the United States; and 

18 (B) does not receive funds from taxpayers 

19 in the United States. 

20 (5) No amounts are specifically allocated from 

21 the Crime Victims Fund to individuals age 65 or 

22 older who experience victimization in the form of 

23 abuse, neglect, or exploitation. 

24 (6) The Government Accountability Office esti25 mates that elder abuse investigations by Adult ProVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:38 Aug 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3490.IS S3490

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1 tect Services in 33 States may increase by 28 per2 cent by the year 2020. 

3 (7) The Federal Government and State govern4 ments use varying definitions of the term ‘‘elder 

5 abuse’’. The definition of ‘‘elder abuse’’ used by a 

6 State government is recognized as the primary defi7 nition to ensure consistent administration of existing 

8 and future elder abuse programs by the State. 

9 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT OF 

10 1984. 

11 (a) CRIME VICTIMS FUND.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1402(d) of the Vic13 tims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601(d)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

16 paragraph (1); and 

17 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1), as so 

18 redesignated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), for each 

20 fiscal year in which the obligation limitation is great21 er than the obligation limitation for fiscal year 2012, 

22 the first $20,000,000 made available for obligation 

23 in the fiscal year after the amount equal to the obli24 gation limitation for fiscal year 2012 is made availVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:38 Aug 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3490.IS S3490

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1 able shall be available for grants under section 

2 1404F. 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) Subject to subparagraph (C), in any fis4 cal year in which an amount less than $20,000,000, 

5 or no amount, is made available under subparagraph 

6 (A) for grants under section 1404F, and the amount 

7 available in the Fund is greater than the obligation 

8 limitation for the fiscal year, the amount described 

9 in clause (ii) shall be deposited into an elder abuse 

10 reserve fund and shall be available to make grants 

11 under section 1404F. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The amount described in this clause is an 

13 amount that is the lesser of— 

14 ‘‘(I) the difference between— 

15 ‘‘(aa) $20,000,000; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) the amount made available 

17 under subparagraph (A) for grants under 

18 section 1404F in the fiscal year; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the limitation surplus for the fiscal 

20 year. 

21 ‘‘(iii) The Director may carry over amounts in 

22 the elder abuse reserve fund established under clause 

23 (i) from fiscal year to fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Amounts in the elder abuse reserve fund 

2 established under clause (i) shall not be subject to 

3 the obligation limitation. 

4 ‘‘(C) The sum of the amounts made available 

5 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) for grants under 

6 section 1404F in a fiscal year shall be not more 

7 than $20,000,000. 

8 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph— 

9 ‘‘(i) the term ‘obligation limitation’ means 

10 the amount in the Fund that is made available 

11 for obligation in a fiscal year under the applica12 ble appropriations act; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘limitation surplus’ means, 

14 with respect to a fiscal year, the amount that 

15 is equal to the difference between— 

16 ‘‘(I) the amount available in the 

17 Fund; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the obligation limitation for the 

19 fiscal year.’’. 

20 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND21 MENTS.—The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 

22 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.) is amended— 

23 (A) in section 1402— 

24 (i) in subsection (d)— 


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1 (I) in paragraph (3), by striking 

2 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘para3 graphs (1) and (2)’’; and 

4 (II) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

5 (aa) in the first sentence, by 

6 inserting ‘‘(1),’’ before ‘‘(2)’’; 

7 and 

8 (bb) in the second sentence, 

9 by inserting ‘‘(1),’’ before ‘‘(2)’’; 

10 and 

11 (ii) in subsection (g)— 

12 (I) in paragraph (1), in the mat13 ter preceding subparagraph (A), by 

14 striking ‘‘(d)(2)’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘(d)(1)’’; and 

16 (II) in paragraph (2), by striking 

17 ‘‘(d)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(1)’’; 

18 (B) in section 1404(a)(1), by striking 

19 ‘‘1402(d)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘1402(d)(4)’’; and 

20 (C) in section 1404A, in the first sentence, 

21 by striking ‘‘1402(d)(2)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘1402(d)(1)’’. 

23 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

24 Congress that— 


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1 (A) in establishing the maximum amount 

2 available for obligation during a fiscal year in 

3 the Fund established under section 1402 of the 

4 Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 

5 10601), the maximum should be increased by 

6 the amount described in such section 

7 1402(d)(2)(A), as amended by paragraph (1), 

8 as compared to the maximum amount that 

9 would otherwise be established; or 

10 (B) the amount described in paragraph 

11 (2)(B) of section 1402(d) of the Victims of 

12 Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601(d)), as 

13 added by paragraph (1), should be made avail14 able on an annual basis to be used for com15 pensation and assistance to victims of elder 

16 abuse. 

17 (b) COMPENSATION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF

18 ELDER ABUSE.—The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 

19 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec20 tion 1404E (42 U.S.C. 10603e) the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1404F. COMPENSATION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 

22 OF ELDER ABUSE. 

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

24 ‘‘(1) the term ‘elder abuse’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means the abuse, exploitation, or ne2 glect, as those terms are defined in section 

3 2011 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 1397j), of an individual who is— 

5 ‘‘(i) age 65 or older; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) lawfully present in the United 

7 States; and 

8 ‘‘(B) with respect to a State that receives 

9 a grant under this section, includes any other 

10 conduct not described in subparagraph (A) that 

11 is defined as elder abuse under the laws of the 

12 State; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ means each of the several 

14 States of the United States, the District of Colum15 bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the 

16 United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and 

17 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

18 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

20 the Director shall use the amounts made available 

21 under section 1402(d)(2) to make grants to States 

22 to support— 

23 ‘‘(A) eligible crime victim assistance pro24 grams, as defined in section 1404(b)(1), that 

25 provide assistance to victims of elder abuse; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) programs that improve the investiga2 tion, handling (as defined under the laws of a 

3 State), and prosecution of cases of elder abuse. 

4 ‘‘(2) STATE APPORTIONMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) BASE AMOUNTS.—Of the amounts al6 located for grants to States under paragraph 

7 (1), the Director shall apportion— 

8 ‘‘(i) 0.5 percent to— 

9 ‘‘(I) each of the several States of 

10 the United States; 

11 ‘‘(II) the District of Columbia; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(III) the Commonwealth of 

14 Puerto Rico; 

15 ‘‘(ii) 0.25 percent to— 

16 ‘‘(I) Guam; and 

17 ‘‘(II) the United States Virgin Is18 lands; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) 0.125 percent to— 

20 ‘‘(I) American Samoa; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the Northern Mariana Is22 lands. 

23 ‘‘(B) REMAINING AMOUNTS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Amounts remain25 ing after apportionment under subparaVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:38 Aug 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3490.IS S3490

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1 graph (A) of the amounts allocated under 

2 paragraph (1) shall be apportioned among 

3 the States according to a formula estab4 lished by the Director. 

5 ‘‘(ii) FORMULA.—The formula de6 scribed in clause (i) shall be based on the 

7 following factors: 

8 ‘‘(I) The population of individ9 uals age 65 or older in a State in rela10 tion to the population of individuals 

11 age 65 or older in all States. 

12 ‘‘(II) The population of individ13 uals age 65 or older in a State in rela14 tion to the population of the State. 

15 ‘‘(III) The overall rate of crime 

16 in a State, as determined by the Bu17 reau of the Census. 

18 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

19 the cost of a program carried out by one of the sev20 eral States, the District of Columbia, or the Com21 monwealth of Puerto Rico using a grant under this 

22 section may not exceed 80 percent. 

23 ‘‘(c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Attorney General, act24 ing through the Director, shall submit to Congress a bien25 nial report on— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the use of funds made available under sec2 tion 1402(d)(2) during each of the 2 preceding fiscal 

3 years; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the administration of this section, includ5 ing— 

6 ‘‘(A) a complete and detailed analysis of— 

7 ‘‘(i) the manner in which each State 

8 that receives amounts under this section 

9 has distributed the amounts; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) significant problems, if any, in 

11 carrying out this section; and 

12 ‘‘(B) recommendations for legislation to 

13 remedy the problems, if any, identified under 

14 subparagraph (A)(ii).’’. 

Æ 


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