Call on Congress to fix VOCA now!
Today, Wednesday, April 21, 2021, is National Day of Action for the VOCA Fix!
The Victim of Crime Act’s (VOCA) Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is a non-taxpayer source of funding that support thousands of crime victims service providers, including Friendship Home, and is funded by monetary penalties associated with federal criminal convictions.
On March 17, the House of Representatives passed the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 (“the VOCA Fix Act”) with overwhelming bipartisan support. This critical legislation will prevent devastating cuts to federal funding for victim service programs through the Victims of Crime Act (“VOCA”). However, we have yet to see movement on the Senate companion bill, S.611.
The situation is dire! Federal grants to victim services through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) have been cut by two-thirds in the last four years. Congress can fix this by ensuring federal financial penalties from deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements are treated the same way as penalties resulting from criminal convictions – that they go to serve and compensate crime victims.
It is time for the SENATE TO ACT!
In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Crime Victims’ Rights Week, call or email your Senators and urge them to sponsor and pass S.611, the bipartisan, bicameral VOCA Fix Act. Contact information for Nebraska’s Senators can be found below.
If they are already sponsoring, thank them and ask them to encourage their colleagues to sponsor S.611. Check here to see if your Senators are already sponsoring.
A toolkit with information about how to find their contact information, sample telephone scripts, sample emails, and social media posts can be found here. In addition to contacting your Senators directly, join the Twitter storm from 1:00 – 2:00 CT. The hashtags are #VOCAFix and #Crisis4Victims.
During Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Senate must take action to support victims of crime. We need your help to get the VOCA Fix Act across the finish line!
Nebraska’s Senators
Deb Fischer
202-224-6551
Send Email
Twitter: @senatorfischer
Ben Sasse
202-224-4224
Send Email
Twitter: @SenSasse