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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Rick Taylor |
  
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State House advances Taylor crime victim services funding resolution
HARRISBURG, June 26 – The state House Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by Rep. Rick Taylor, D-Montgomery, calling on Congress to remove a cap on federal Victims of Crime Act fund allocations provided to the states.
Taylor said the fund, created under President Ronald Reagan in 1984, is maintained by federal criminal fines, forfeitures, revoked bail bonds and other penalties and uses no tax revenues.
Pennsylvania and other states use their appropriations from the fund to support victim compensation programs to assist crime victims with medical expenses, counseling, lost wages and funeral expenses. The funds also help states provide services for victims of domestic violence and child abuse, including crisis intervention programs, emergency shelter and child care.
In 2000, Congress placed a capping formula on spending from the fund with revenue above the cap set aside to ensure stable funding in the future. The unspent reserve is currently at $1.4 billion.
However, for the coming federal fiscal year, the Bush administration has requested the cap be maintained at its 2008 level and the reserve funds be shifted to other federal programs, with the result that in 2010, Pennsylvania and the other states would receive no Victims of Crime Act money.
"The complete loss of these federal nontax revenues at a time when operating costs are rising would be catastrophic for victim services in Pennsylvania," Taylor said. "It would mean cutting back on services, restricting the number of victims they can help, or closing them down altogether.
"These aren't fluff programs – they're basic assistance for people, including children, who have endured domestic abuse, sexual abuse, rape, elder abuse, the loss of a loved one to a drunk driver or are dealing with the murder of their child."
Taylor said he is especially appreciative of the complete bipartisan support in the House for his resolution, which was adopted by a 200-0 vote.
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