Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I join Senator Leahy and others who have come to the floor this afternoon to urge clean passage of the VOCA Fix Act so that we can secure greater deposits into the Crime Victims Fund and ensure continued support for crime victims. I am currently the chair of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee. Senator Moran from Kansas is my ranking member. Before that, Senator Moran was chair of the committee, and I was the ranking member. Together, we have committed to a target of spending from the fund at a minimum of the 3-year average of collections. That is a practice that was started by former Appropriations Committee and CJS Chair Senator Mikulski, along with Senator Shelby, back in 2015. All deposits made into the Crime Victims Fund should stay in the fund. Our subcommittee directs the amount that is released by the Justice Department from the fund for victim services. But every dollar stays in the fund and is available in future years if it is not used for victim services. If Senator Toomey's amendment passes, if appropriations bills contain less than the 3-year average, either the entire cap falls, depleting the fund in one fiscal year or, more likely, the appropriations bill would be stopped from moving forward on the floor. Now, I appreciate what Senator Toomey is trying to do. He wants to address budget reform and the impact of mandatory spending, but this is not the way to do that.…”