Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 909, the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act. I thank Congresswoman Ann Wagner for her leadership on this legislation because it reflects a principle this body has long shared: When the justice system holds wrongdoers accountable, those resources should help rebuild the lives of the innocent victims of the wrongdoers.

Congress created the Crime Victims Fund through the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to support victims of violent crimes through counseling, advocacy, and recovery services.

Importantly, this fund is financed by fines and penalties paid for by those convicted of Federal crimes. It is not taxpayer dollars. That structure reflects that simple, but powerful, idea that accountability should serve justice.

Today, however, that promise is under strain. According to the Office for Victims of Crime, the Crime Victims Fund ended fiscal year 2024 with a balance of just $1.2 billion, a 90 percent decline since 2017. As a result, victim assistance programs nationwide face a $600 million funding shortfall. For organizations serving survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault, including programs across northeast Texas, where I represent, this means fewer services and, in some cases, the risk of shutting the doors of organizations who are helping to bring restoration and healing to victims and families.

H.R. 909 reflects a straightforward principle: The justice system can both punish lawbreakers and support victims. There are no new taxes, no new spending, and no cost to the taxpayer, only a responsible use of fines collected in judicial proceedings to ensure victims are on a pathway to healing. The bill temporarily redirects unobligated funds collected under the False Claims Act into the Crime Victims Fund through 2029. Over the past 2 years alone, False Claims Act settlements have totaled nearly $5 billion, and after defrauded agencies and whistleblowers are made whole, remaining funds currently sit unused.

This legislation is bipartisan because the need is bipartisan. Victims of crime are not defined by geography or by party, and neither should our response. H.R. 909 provides stability, preserves the original intent of the Crime Victims Fund, and ensures that those harmed by crime continue to receive the support they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to strongly support this commonsense legislation.

I, again, thank Representative Wagner for her years of leadership and dedicated work to make this a reality and for all those on both sides of the aisle who are ardently supporting this bill.

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