[Senate Report 116-40]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 84
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-40
======================================================================
THE VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT OF 1984 TO SECURE URGENT RESOURCES VITAL TO
INDIAN VICTIMS OF CRIME, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
May 13, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hoeven, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 211]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 211) to amend the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to
secure urgent resources vital to Indian victims of crime, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim
Empowerment (SURVIVE) Act will improve public safety and
strengthen victim resources in tribal communities by amending
the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) to create a grant
program within the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for
Victims of Crime (Office). The Director of the Office will
administer grants to eligible Indian Tribes to provide needed
victims' assistance.
SUMMARY OF THE BILL
This bill, S. 211, will increase access to federal
resources by utilizing 5% of the annual Congressional
allocation from the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) for a tribal
victim services grant program. Congress created the CVF, a
budget neutral fund supported by fines and penalties collected
from convicted Federal offenders, in 1984 with enactment of the
VOCA to support services for victims of crime by providing
funding to states to administer grants for crime victim
assistance and compensation activities.
Under the current CVF system, only states and U.S.
territories receive federal CVF grants to administer victim
support services. As a result, Tribes must apply for sub-grants
through the state they are located in, and only a small portion
of CVF funding--roughly 0.7% per year in recent years--reaches
Native victims. This structure, which results in
disproportionately low levels of CVF funding reaching Indian
country, hinders Indian Tribes in their ability to provide
services to victims of crime located within their lands.
Each year, Congress sets the annual cap on the CVF so the
funding allocation can increase or decrease as the legislative
branch deems necessary. In FY 2018 with enactment of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Congress authorized a
one-time allocation for Indian Tribes to receive 3% ($133
million) directly from the CVF to improve services for
victims.\1\ Congress, through the passage of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2019, set the FY 2019 CVF funding cap at
$3.353 billion. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019,
included a tribal CVF set-aside for FY 2019 and increased the
level reserved for Indian Tribes to 5% ($167.65 million).\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-141
(2018).
\2\Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, Pub. L. No. 116-6 (2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The grant program created by the SURVIVE Act parallels
existing Federal VOCA regulations and guidance that govern
critical victim assistance, services, and infrastructure in
statute. Eligible services and infrastructure under the SURVIVE
Act include operation of domestic violence shelters; delivery
of medical care, counseling, legal assistance and services, and
providing child and elder abuse prevention and treatment
programs. By providing flexibility in the SURVIVE grant
program, Indian Tribes will be able to boost baseline victim
service delivery in Indian country and improve access to
greatly needed culturally appropriate, community-specific
services.
Additionally, the SURVIVE Act provides for significant
confidentiality and privacy protections so that victims of
crime feel safe when receiving services funded by the grant.
The bill requires all grantees to submit annual reporting to
the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime, which
administers VOCA grants to conduct regular monitoring and
review of the grant program. This monitoring will also provide
an opportunity for the Department of Justice and Indian Tribes
to review the effectiveness of the SURVIVE grant structure and
improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
The SURVIVE Act also mirrors the VOCA requirements of
participation and implementation that recipients must provide
services to all victims. As such, the bill ensures that SURVIVE
grantees will increase access to crime victim services for
everyone residing in or near remote Tribal communities,
regardless of the Native or non-Native status of crime victims.
The bill, S. 211, reflects the language reported by the
Committee in the 115th Congress and incorporates the following
technical corrections:
Edited the capitalization of ``Tribe'' and
``Tribal'' to conform to new Government Printing Office
style guidance;
Changed the initial reporting year in section
1404G(e)(3) of the Victims of Crime Act from 2017 to
``the first fiscal year beginning after the date of
enactment of this section'' to align with the timeline
for grants under that section; and
Amended section 2 so that section 1404G(e)(4)
of the Victims of Crime Act more clearly defines
compliance requirements for the recipient or sub-
recipient.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On January 24, 2019, Senator Hoeven introduced S. 211, the
Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment
Act (SURVIVE Act), with original cosponsors Senators Udall,
Barrasso, Cortez Masto, Daines, Murkowski, Smith, and Tester.
On January 29, 2019, Senator Cantwell joined as a cosponsor of
the bill. The Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate held a
duly called business meeting on January 29, 2019, to consider
twelve bills, including S. 211. No amendments were filed to S.
211. The Committee passed all twelve bills, including S. 211,
en bloc by voice vote and ordered the bills to be reported
favorably. On February 4, 2019, Senators McSally and Warren
were added as cosponsors. On February 12, 2019, Senator Merkley
was added as a cosponsor. On March 4, 2019, Senator Sullivan
was added as a cosponsor. On March 11, 2019, Senator Cramer was
added as a cosponsor. On March 25, 2019, Senator Stabenow was
added as a cosponsor.
On March 25, 2019, Representatives O'Halleran, Cole,
Haaland, and Don Young introduced H.R. 1351, a companion bill
to S. 211, which the House of Representatives referred to the
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the
Committee on the Judiciary. Since introduction, Representatives
Moore, McCollum, Jayapal, Aguilar, Pocan, Kildee, Gallego,
Kuster, Ocasio-Cortez, and Titus have joined the bill as
cosponsors. No further action has been taken on the bill.
115th Congress. On September 27, 2017, Senator Hoeven
introduced S. 1870, the SURVIVE Act. This bill was cosponsored
by Senators Barrasso, Cortez Masto, Daines, Duckworth, Franken,
Heitkamp, McCain, Murkowski, Murray, Stabenow, Tester, Udall,
and Warren.
The Committee held a legislative hearing on S. 1870 on
October 25, 2017. At the legislative hearing, officials from
the Departments of the Interior and Justice testified in favor
of the bill. The Committee held a duly called business meeting
on December 6, 2017 to consider S. 1870. No amendments were
filed to the bill. At the business meeting, the Committee
ordered the bill to be reported favorably without amendment.
Senator Hoeven reported S. 1870 on April 9, 2018, but the
Senate took no further action on the bill during the 115th
Congress.
On December 11, 2017, Representatives O'Halleran, Cole,
Sinema, and Young introduced H.R. 4608, a companion bill to S.
1870, which the House of Representatives referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary. The Committee subsequently referred
the bill to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland
Security on January 22, 2018. Following introduction and
referral, Representatives Moore, Grijalva, Issa, Pallone,
Norton, McCollum, Cramer, Pocan, Bergman, Lujan, Raskin,
Jayapal, Aguilar, and Kildee joined the bill as cosponsors.
However, the House took no further action on the bill during
the 115th Congress.
114th Congress. Senator Barrasso introduced S. 1704, the
SURVIVE Act, a similar bill to S. 1870 that was introduced this
past Congress. That bill, S. 1704, was cosponsored by Senators
Daines, Heitkamp, Hoeven, McCain, Moran, Murkowski, Schatz,
Tester, and Udall. On June 10, 2015, the Committee held an
oversight hearing on addressing the need for crime victim
services in Indian Country. The Committee ordered S. 1704 to be
reported favorably with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute. No further action was taken on S. 1704.
No Member of the House of Representatives introduced a
companion bill to S. 1704 during the 114th Congress.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 states that the Act may be cited as the
``Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment
Act'' or ``SURVIVE Act.''
Sec. 2. Indian victims of crime
Section 2 amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34
U.S.C. 20101 et seq.) to create a grant program for Indian
Tribes within the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of
Crime (Office).
This section directs the Office to make grants to eligible
Indian Tribes for a range of crime victim service activities.
Funds obtained through this program may be expended over a
period of five years and shall not be subject to matching
requirements. Any sums that are unobligated at the end of the
five-year period must be returned to the Office and made
available for Indian crime victim service activities in the
following fiscal year.
This section specifies that in order to be eligible to
access grants under this program, an Indian tribe must submit
in writing a detailed victim assistance proposal, according to
listed requirements. Any Indian tribe that receives a grant
under this program must also submit an annual report to the
Office describing the purpose for which grant funds were used.
This section provides explicit oversight and enforcement
authorities and duties to the Office, including requiring the
Office to engage in regular monitoring, reviews,
investigations, and audits. The Office must also ensure that
all grants are subject to performance measures and enforceable
agreements that allow for thorough program oversight. The
Director of the Office for Victims of Crime (Director) must
provide annual compliance reports on all grants awarded under
this program to appropriate committees of Congress.
This section provides significant confidentiality and
privacy protections for crime victims, including restrictions
on reporting and sharing personally identifying information of
crime victims.
This section specifies that grants awarded under this
program and related administrative costs shall be supported
with funds in the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). It amends Section
1402(d) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C.
10601(d)) to require 5% of the CVF funds made available for
obligation in a fiscal year to be available to the Director for
the Indian tribal grant program. The Office may not use more
than 4% of these funds for grant administration and technical
assistance costs.
The grant program will sunset after a period of ten years.
Sec. 3. Regulations regarding Indian Tribes
Section 3 provides that any rule, regulation, or guidance
promulgated before enactment shall have no force or effect with
respect to the Indian tribal grant program established under
this Act.
This section requires the Director to issue implementing
regulations through negotiated rulemaking, after consultation
with Indian Tribes, no later than 1 year after this Act is
enacted.
This section requires the Director to consult with no less
than two Indian Tribes from each Bureau of Indian Affairs
region, and that small, medium, and large land-based Tribes are
represented during the negotiated rulemaking.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following cost estimate, as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office, dated February 8, 2019, was
prepared for S. 211:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, February 8, 2019.
Hon. John Hoeven,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 211, the SURVIVE
Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 211 would establish a program within the Department of
Justice to make grants to Indian tribes to provide services to
crime victims, including medical care, counseling, and legal
services. For each of the 10 fiscal years after enactment, the
bill would set aside 5 percent of the amounts available in the
Crime Victims Fund for those grants (spending from that fund is
considered direct spending).
CBO's baseline projects that all balances and new deposits
into the Crime Victims Fund will be spent under current law
(mostly for existing grant programs); thus, enacting the bill
would not increase total outlays from the fund. Enacting the
bill could affect the timing of outlays but those effects would
not be significant in any year over the 2019-2029 period.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes S. 211 will have
minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding S. 211.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
On February 6, 2019, the Committee unanimously approved a
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the Committee, it is
necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of the
Senate.
[all]