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2006 NOVA Newsl. 1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/novan2006 and id is 1 raw text is: Vome 2 3 NOAof 43 isus Na3tiona Orga.nizat on for Vi et mAsstance NOVA Mobilizes for Lasting Protection Feds Seek to Diain Victims' Fund - Again IThe Presidents B3udget, submitted to ('ongress on IFehnuary 6, is pnce again proposing a rescission of al the funds projected to be in the C rime Vitimus IFund at the end of t1hc upcoming fiscal year. HWhen the same proposal w\as offered last year, no member of Congress publily supported it, and the Adminisitration's lobbying efforts in its behalf were con- ducted below the radar Tism year, how\- exct, the Justice Department is mounting a publb campaign to conduct its sugery on the financial heart of the Victims of Crime Actof1984 (VO('A) an operation that will totally drain the Fund, a this article will explain. In a March 8 hearing before his Sub- committee on Fedeal Financial Manage- ment of the Homeland Secuity (Commit- tee, C hairman Torn Cobhrn (R-OK), charged. '-The proposal would take this money the rainy day f'und plus an ad- vance on what will be deposited in 2007 call it ~surplus' and dump it into the General freasury. In response, Paul (Corts, the Assistant Attorney (General lor Administration, countered, T1he proposed rescission is a budgetar action that wil notnegately afet programs fur thevc- tims of crime We are committed to ensur- ing the solvency of the Fund and adequate funding for victims' programs. Mr1 Corts substituted the term per- petual float for last y ear's surplus in describing the reserves in the Crlime lVic- timsk Fund the $1-plus billon whichh C harman C obumn calls a ramny day fund. Under questioning, Mr. ('orts continued to assert that the VOCA program would have money to sustain its grant program at the outset of Filscal 20018, a claim earnestily delivered but in contrdiction to the Admninistration's actual proposal. T he mnechanics of' the VOCA1 statute paint a clear picture of what the budget plan would do. How the Crime Victims Fund Is Funded lThe VOCA program is self-funded, in Senator Coburn's words, in that its revenues are t1he fines and other finacial penalties collected itom Federal o ttenders each year, \itb no tax dollars in the mix. Of course, fine collections are unpredict- able and so, in 1999, when one shopping ine tripled the deposits in the Fund, Con- Note to Readers: an announcement of the VOCA threat was emailed to NOVA membersasa timel ictim Voices legis- lative alert. Members: make sure we have your email address, through Nova- One at our website. Now more than ever it is crucial that we all work as one to preserve the Crime Victims Fund! gress imposeda cap on how much could be spent of that money the next year. A cap has been eimposed each year Monel in the Fund above the cap s explcitly re- served to make up for needed funding in lean years. Indeed, in three yers, VOCA has had to dip into the rany day f'nd for money needed to meet the amount Con- gres targeted for that tsal year. Yet in four of the years since 199, collections outpaced expenditures, so the reserves have grown to $1.3 trillon. In relative terms, it is not a huge sum - it's about twice the typical VOCA budget $650 million, authoriued in recent yals. Its continued growth is a chanc proposi tion, since each time it has spiked well above what Congress thought the program needed, it was entirely due to one, two, or three massive fines taken from felonious corporations plainly acas eof rare good fortune Trom the perspectiv of VOC A anml the vitfims it serves. In a post-lKatrina wold, relmn on a few rich lisreans to keep victirn programs atoat seems a poor 11sk for a prudent govrnmnent administra- ion to take Independent of any consideration of how much is enough to spend or keep in reserve at any given tune is the principle on which the progran was constructed: cimevitimns need and deserve compen- sation and personal assistance, and there is no better pool ofnesources to undertake the work of vitim rehabilitation than money) Itlt explopiated fom of tenders Speaking at the March Senate hearing, idwon Meese wealled the thnking that prompted him and other officials of the Reagan Adimnistration to propose the cre- ation of VOCA1 Noting its reliance on revenue from criminal fines, fees, and forleiture, the former Attorney General said, This meant that the cost 'for neces- sary assistance would be paid for by the crimuals themselves, not by the taxpay - ers, This was the philosophy behind the decision of C ongress and the President to establish the Crime Victims Fund in the manner it now exists. For those who subscenbe to VLCA's See A fund, page 2 NOVA Todayis the quarterly newstter of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, publhed as a serce to its members and the general public. Views expressed here are those of their autho rs and do not necessarily reflect those of the Board of Directors of NOVA.t 2006 by the National Organization for Victim Assistance. Permission is granted to reproduce material from NOVA Today provided the source and copynight are appropriately noted.

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