memo

To: Advocacy Committee

From: Trey Hicks
Date: November 12, 2009
Re: Trafficking victims funding and the
pending “Crime Victims Fund
Preservation Act” in Congress

There is an opportunity for the Love146 NYC Task Force to advocate for federal legislation that
would benefit victims’ services and compensation to victims of human trafficking in the U.S. as
well as other victims of crime.

The Congressional Victims Rights Caucus, a bipartisan association of Congressmen organized to

promote victims rights legislation, are working to pass the “Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act”
(S. 1340/H.R. 3402). This bill, if passed, would increase funding for programs that offer support
and services to victims of crime, including human trafficking.

The bill is bipartisan, and the funding is 100% derived from criminal fines, fees and forfeitures—
making criminals pay for their crime, literally.

• All 54 Attorneys General from the states and territories of the USA support the bill.

• 44 of the leading national and state victims rights organizations support the bill.

[NOTE: See attached letters of support and press releases]

For more information and downloads of background info, letters of endorsement, and press
releases, visit www.navaa.org/cvf.

Background information and explanation of what the bill does:

• The Crime Victims Fund, established over 2 decades ago by President Reagan, is a special
account made up entirely of fines and other penalties paid by convicted federal offenders
and dedicated exclusively to a variety of services to help crime victims; there are no
taxpayer dollars in the Fund.

• The Crime Victims Fund was established by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), and is
dispersed to victims programs in the states via annual grants.
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• Grants to state VOCA victim assistance programs fund services to more than 4 million victims
of all types of crimes, including, among others, human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual
assault, child abuse, survivors of homicide victim, drunk driving crashes, stalking, identity
theft, and elder abuse.

• Because of fluctuations in Fund deposits from unpredictable criminal fines/fees, Congress

limits or “caps” annual obligations from the Fund, resulting in an accumulated “rainy day”
balance to ensure stable funding for victim services. [NOTE: see attached “Explanation of
Crime Victims Funds.pdf”]

• Because the VOCA cap did not keep pace with the costs of programs, state crime victim
assistance grants were cut by $87 million (22 percent) from 2006 to 2008.

• During this same period, however, the Fund’s “rainy day” balance increased by more than
$700 million — from $1.3 billion in 2006 to $2 billion in 2008. Based on criminal fines that
federal courts have already imposed but not yet collected, the balance is projected to grow
even more through 2014.

• Crime victims’ needs continue to increase. The need to support crime victim services
continues to increase. Examples:

o According to U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, 366,000 fewer
crime victims received VOCA funded victim assistance services in 2008 than in 2007.

o The National Census of Domestic Violence Services reports that, on one day in 2008,
nearly 61,000 adults and children sought support from local domestic violence
programs. But on that same day, almost 9,000 requests were unmet due to lack of
resources.

o Calls to the National Crime Victim Hotline operated by the National Center for Victims
of Crime have increased, especially for victims of a variety of frauds, such as work at
home, secret shopper and investment schemes, mortgage and construction fraud.

• S. 1340 (introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Crapo) and H.R. 3402
(introduced by Representatives Ted Poe and Jim Costa) are essential to preserving the
Fund and meeting victims’ needs. These bills will statutorily establish a minimum annual
cap on VOCA through 2014. The caps will increase the VOCA cap by 23 percent each year yet
leave a balance of at least $800 million, enough to ensure the Fund’s sustainability.

• The bills will provide a steady, reasonable and predictable growth in victim services through
2014 without jeopardizing the Fund’s ability to continue supporting victim services.

What can the Love146 NYC Task Force do?

Currently, of the 31 Congressmen from New York, both Senators and Representatives, only 1 is
currently cosponsoring the bill: Senator Chuck Schumer. Here is what we can do:
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(1) Contact each member of our New York Congressional Delegation to request they each
cosponsor the bill.
a. Find

(2) Email, Twitter, Facebook your friends and family asking them to contact their own state
Congressional delegations to cosponsor the bill as well

Tips for effective advocacy:

(1) Use http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt to find the contact

information for your state’s Congressional delegation contact information.

(2) Phone calls are the most effective way to reach your Congressman. BUT only call if you
have a LOCAL phone number—the Congressional offices can tell where the call is coming
from, and there is a higher chance your call will not be logged with your request if you use
an out-of-state cell phone to call your local Representative or State Senator.

a. Request to speak with the “Legislative Assistant” that handles “Crime Victims
legislation” for the member of Congress you are calling. They may not patch you
through BUT THAT’S OK….The front desk many times logs calls and constituent’s
view—your view will be logged, so don’t hold out to talk to someone else---talk to
whomever you are transferred to and let them log your call and your views.

b. You should say something like the following:

i. Representative X (whoever your House Rep is for your neighborhood): “Hello,

my name is Trey, and I live in your Congressional district. I would like
Representative X to cosponsor the Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act, HR
3402. The bill would increase funding for victims of crime here in New York,
including victims of human trafficking that are rescued here in our district.
Representative Jim Costa and Ted Poe are the sponsors. Do you know if
Representative X will support this bill? Can you write me back and let me
know?”

ii. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: “Hello, my name is Trey, and I live in New York
City. I would like Senator Gillibrand to cosponsor the Crime Victims Fund
Preservation Act, S. 1340. The bill would increase funding for victims of crime
here in New York, including victims of human trafficking that are rescued here
in our state. Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Crapo are the sponsors, and
Senator Chuck Schumer, your colleague from New York, is a cosponsor. Do you
know if the Senator will support this bill? Can you write me back and let me
know?”

iii. The last two questions are VERY IMPORTANT since it requires the
Representative/Senator’s staff to think about the issue and respond with what
they plan on doing about the bill. Make sure you ask these things in one way or
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the other.

c. BE POLITE---do not be bossy or use a rude/mean tone on the phone. Lather your
conversation with kindness and grace….it will go a long way to make sure your views
are properly represented in the logging of your call.

(3) If you only have an out-of-state cell phone, a written letter or email is the next best option.
Use the same website as listed in #1 to find the email address or webform your Congressmen
use for email correspondence…or find their mailing address (use their DC office, not their
local/State office) for a hand written letter.

(4) Use the same suggested script whether you call or write/email, but feel free to work in your
own comments, thoughts, and any information you want to include re: human trafficking.