(INDIANAPOLIS) – A bipartisan bill to support victims of crime is on its way to President Biden.
The Crime Victims Fund pays for things from domestic violence shelters to rape crisis centers. It’s funded by fines and fees against people convicted in federal court. But deferred prosecutions weren’t included in the law creating the fund. Those fees have just gone to the Treasury. As U.S. attorneys have made increasing use of those agreements, the fund has taken in a half-billion dollars less over the last decade.
Laura Berry with the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence says the change should restore about 10-million dollars to her agency’s annual funding for shelters, representation of victims in court, and other services.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously. There were 38 no votes in the House — Indiana’s representatives all voted yes.
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