Victims' Voices Outside and Inside the Courtroom Effectiveness Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, S. 3706, the Victims' Voices Outside and Inside the Courtroom Effectiveness Act, or the Victims' VOICES Act, is bipartisan legislation that would amend the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act to make certain family members, friends, legal guardians, and others eligible to receive repayment for expenses incurred as a result of helping victims of crime seek justice and restorative care.

While the intention of the MVRA is to ensure that victims of violent crime, crimes against property, and other crimes are compensated by defendants for their losses, the limitations placed on who may receive restitution can create unfair consequences for those who have provided much-needed support to victims.

That is why it has become necessary for Congress to consider the broader impact of the diverse judicial interpretations of the MVRA on those individuals who play a vital role in helping victims recover and heal.

Victims of crime often experience a range of emotional, physical, and psychological challenges that can make it difficult to navigate the complex, legal, and therapeutic processes involved in pursuing justice and healing.

In the wake of these crimes, particularly violent crimes, support from family members, friends, legal guardians, and others is crucial for victims not only to actively participate in the investigation and prosecution of their cases, but to receive the medical care, psychological treatment, and other support services that they so desperately need.

These exceptional people play a critical role in providing comfort and assistance to victims of crime, which requires significant time and effort. Oftentimes, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, guardians, and best friends take on the daunting responsibility of transporting their loved ones over several weeks and months or sometimes even years to meet with investigators and prosecutors or to receive treatment, therapy, or other services.

They sit through monthslong trials, sentencing hearings, and other court proceedings alongside their traumatized loved ones, providing support and encouragement while spending countless hours away from their jobs, needing additional childcare, and spending huge amounts of money on travel.

Unfortunately, several jurisdictions have refused to allow repayment of the money spent or not earned by family members and others who they have determined do not meet the MVRA's definition of ``victim.''

Despite recognizing the good policy reasons for allowing a court to order reimbursement to a victim's representative for such expenditures, the Sixth, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits, as well as many lower courts, have held that the language of the MVRA limits restitution to losses incurred only by victims and not by those who help them. We must not allow this injustice to persist.

It is, therefore, necessary that Congress makes clear that family members and others should receive compensation for the costs they have incurred as a result of aiding victims of crime as they traverse the lengthy and often overwhelming path to justice.

This legislation would satisfy this objective by clarifying that restitution should be made to family members and others in the same manner as victims for lost income, childcare, transportation, and other expenses incurred to participate in an investigation or prosecution, attend proceedings, or transport the victim for medical care, treatment, or therapy.

By ensuring that courts are authorized to order restitution in this manner, this legislation would encourage the provision of support to victims and ensure perpetrators of crime are made to pay for all of the losses they cause while advancing fairness, accountability, and justice.

I commend the sponsor of the House version of this bill, Ms. Hageman, along with her bipartisan lead Cosponsors, Representatives Lucy McBath, Hank Johnson, and Nathaniel Moran for their efforts, along with the Senate sponsors of this bill.

I encourage my colleagues to join me and a broad coalition of victims' advocacy groups and law enforcement in support of this thoughtful, bipartisan legislation.

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, family members, legal guardians, and others work closely with victims of crime as they work to resolve the trauma of their victimization and the offenses committed against them. Having a strong support system can help victims feel empowered and less isolated in their experiences, which can ultimately strengthen their resolve to participate in the investigation and prosecution of the crime, and to seek treatment for injuries seen and unseen.

S. 3706, the Victims' VOICES Act would authorize courts to order defendants to pay restitution not only to victims of crime for their losses, but also to others for the costs they incur as they stand with victims in the pursuit of justice. I support this bipartisan legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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