[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1652 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.1652
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-one
An Act
To deposit certain funds into the Crime Victims Fund, to waive matching
requirements, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime
Victims Fund Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE FIX OF CRIME VICTIMS FUND AND COMPENSATION.
(a) Crime Victims Fund.--Section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act
of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20101) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) any funds that would otherwise be deposited in the
general fund of the Treasury collected pursuant to--
``(A) a deferred prosecution agreement; or
``(B) a non-prosecution agreement.''; and
(2) in subsection (e), by striking ``Director'' and inserting
``Director, except that renewals and extensions beyond that period
may be granted at the discretion of the Attorney General''.
(b) Crime Victim Compensation.--Section 1403 of the Victims of
Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20102) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``40 percent in fiscal
year 2002 and of 60 percent in subsequent fiscal years'' and
inserting ``75 percent'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``of 40 percent in fiscal
year 2002 and of 60 percent in subsequent fiscal years'';
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new
paragraph:
``(3) For the purposes of calculating amounts awarded in the
previous fiscal year under this subsection, the Director shall not
require eligible crime victim compensation programs to deduct
recovery costs or collections from restitution or from subrogation
for payment under a civil lawsuit.'';
(2) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ``authorities;'' and
inserting ``authorities, except if a program determines such
cooperation may be impacted due to a victim's age, physical
condition, psychological state, cultural or linguistic barriers, or
any other health or safety concern that jeopardizes the victim's
wellbeing;''; and
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) the term `recovery costs' means expenses for personnel
directly involved in the recovery efforts to obtain collections
from restitution or from subrogation for payment under a civil law
suit.''.
SEC. 3. WAIVER OF MATCHING REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 1404(a) of the Victims of Crime Act of
1984 (34 U.S.C. 20103(a)) is amended by inserting at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(7)(A) Each chief executive may waive a matching requirement
imposed by the Director, in accordance with subparagraph (B), as a
condition for the receipt of funds under any program to provide
assistance to victims of crimes authorized under this chapter. The
chief executive shall report to the Director the approval of any
waiver of the matching requirement.
``(B) Each chief executive shall establish and make public, a
policy including--
``(i) the manner in which an eligible crime victim
assistance program can request a match waiver;
``(ii) the criteria used to determine eligibility of the
match waiver; and
``(iii) the process for decision making and notifying the
eligible crime victim assistance program of the decision.''.
(b) National Emergency Waiver.--Section 1404(a) of the Victims of
Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20103(a)), as amended by subsection (a),
is further amended by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
``(8) Beginning on the date a national emergency is declared
under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with
respect to a pandemic and ending on the date that is one year after
the date of the end of such national emergency, each chief
executive shall issue waivers for any matching requirement, in its
entirety, for all eligible crime victim assistance programs
contracted to provide services at that time.''.
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.