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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Joint Memorial 2
Sponsored by Senators TAYLOR, MANNING JR, Representative SMITH G, Senator ANDERSON; Senators
BONHAM, CAMPOS, FREDERICK, GELSER BLOUIN, GIROD, GOLDEN, GORSEK, HAYDEN, JAMA,
LIEBER, MEEK, PATTERSON, PROZANSKI, REYNOLDS, SMITH DB, SOLLMAN, WEBER, Representatives
BOWMAN, GAMBA, GOMBERG, HELFRICH, HELM, MANNIX, PHAM H (at the request of former Senator
Tim Knopp) (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: Urges Congress to pass a law about crime victims.(Flesch Readability Score: 75.5).
Urges Congress to enact legislation alleviating the funding crisis in the Crime Victims Fund.
JOINT MEMORIAL
To the President of the United States and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress assembled:
We, your memorialists, the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon, in legisla-
tive session assembled, respectfully represent as follows:
Whereas Congress created the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) through the Victims of Crime Act of
1984 to provide funding for state victims’ assistance programs; and
Whereas the CVF is not funded by taxpayer dollars but instead is primarily financed through
the fines, settlements, bonds and other monetary penalties associated with federal criminal prose-
cutions;and
Whereas the CVF provides support to thousands of essential victims’ assistance programs
throughout the United States, including child advocacy centers, domestic violence agencies and rape
crisis centers, serving millions of crime victims each year; and
Whereas deposits into the CVF fluctuate annually depending on the cases prosecuted by the
United States Department of Justice; and
Whereas the CVF’s balance has seen a drastic decline in recent years; and
Whereas according to the Office for Victims of Crime, the CVF’s end-of-year balance for the
2024 fiscal year was $1.2 billion, a 90 percent decrease since the 2017 fiscal year; and
Whereas because of this shortfall, the victims’ assistance programs supported by the CVF na-
tionwide now face a devastating cut in funding, which will force many vital programs to reduce or
eliminate services, lay off staff or close their doors entirely; and
Whereas the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024 directly addresses this problem by
redirecting funds collected through the False Claims Act into the CVF through the 2029 fiscal year;
and
Whereas this temporary infusion of resources will help stabilize the CVF, while retaining the
fund’s original intent of being financed by legal fines and fees, not tax dollars; and
Whereas this legislation will give victims’ assistance programs the support they need to keep
their operations running, providing vital services to countless victims in crisis; now, therefore,
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 2781 SJM2
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Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:
That we, the members of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly, recognize the urgent need to
pursue viable solutions to the funding threat facing the Crime Victims Fund; and be it further
Resolved, That we respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass, and the President
to sign, the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024 or similar legislation; and be it further
Resolved, That a copy of this memorial shall be sent to the President of the United States, the
Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and each member of the
Oregon Congressional Delegation.
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