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RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO PASS THE CRIME VICTIMS FUND PRESERVATION ACT OF 2009

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WHEREAS, VOCA created a federal victims compensation account funded by fines assessed in federal criminal convictions, and VOCA established provisions to assist state programs that compensate victims of crimes; and
WHEREAS, the VOCA victim compensation system has distributed over $1 billion over the history of the program; and
WHEREAS, grants to state VOCA victim assistance programs have funded services to more than four million victims of all types of crimes, including domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, survivors of homicide victims, drunk driving crashes, stalking, identity theft, and elder abuse; and
WHEREAS, because of fluctuations in VOCA fund deposits, Congress caps annual obligations from VOCA funds, resulting in an accumulated balance to ensure stable funding for victim services; and
WHEREAS, because the VOCA cap did not keep pace with the cost of state VOCA programs, state crime victim assistance grants were cut by $87 million or 22 percent from 2006 to 2008; and
WHEREAS, during the same period, however, the VOCA accumulated fund balance increased by more than $700 million from approximately $1.3 billion in 2006 to approximately $2 billion in 2008; and
WHEREAS, based on criminal fines that federal courts have already imposed but not yet collected, the balance is projected to grow even more through 2014; and
WHEREAS, although these prior cuts were restored by a combination of the 2009 Appropriations Act and the economic recovery act, the need to support crime victim services continue to increase, for example:
1. According to U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, 366,000 fewer crime victims received VOCA funded victim assistance services in 2008 than in 2007;
2. The National Census of Domestic Violence Services reports that, on one day in 2008, nearly 61,000 adults and children sought support from local domestic violence programs, but on that same day, almost 9,000 requests were unmet due to lack of resources;
3. Calls to the National Crime Victim Hotline operated by the National Center for Victims of Crime have increased, especially for victims of a variety of frauds, such as work at home, secret shopper and investment schemes, mortgage and construction fraud; and
WHEREAS, bipartisan bills have been filed in Congress that would establish higher minimum annual caps on VOCA funds through 2014, S. 1340 by Senators Patrick Leahy (D � Vermont) and Mike Crapo (R � Idaho) and H.R. 3402 by Representatives Ted Poe (R � Texas) and Jim Costa (D � California); and
WHEREAS, these bills would increase the VOCA cap by 23 percent each year, yet still leave a balance of at least $800 million in the VOCA fund, enough to ensure the Fund�s sustainability; and
WHEREAS, S. 1340 and H.R. 3402 will provide a steady, reasonable and predictable growth in victim services through 2014 without jeopardizing the Fund�s ability to continue supporting victim services,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges Congress to pass the Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2009, S. 1340, H.R. 3402 or similar legislation.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the members of the Florida Congressional Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the County's federal lobbyists to advocate for the legislation set forth in Section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2009 and 2010 Federal Legislative Packages to include this item.