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Lawmaker urges Congress to restore victim-services funding amid proposed federal cuts
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Summary
A lawmaker told a House Judiciary Committee hearing that proposed budget cuts and recent federal terminations of grant funding threaten programs for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking and urged bipartisan support to restore those grants.
A lawmaker told a House Judiciary Committee hearing that recent federal cuts and a proposed fiscal 2027 budget threaten programs that help survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking and urged colleagues to restore funding.
The speaker said Congress has previously provided ‘‘significant investments in public safety’’ that helped reduce crime, but argued many survivors still lack access to critical services. "Victims and survivors must be given the support that they need to heal and to find stability in their lives again," the lawmaker said, thanking witnesses for testifying.
The lawmaker named several federal laws that underpin victim services, saying that statutes such as the Violence Against Women Act, the Victims of Crime Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act are effective only when paired with adequate funding. "These life saving bills ... fall short of their potential without adequate funding," the speaker said.
The remarks included an allegation that the Trump administration "abruptly terminated $500,000,000 in grant funding" last year that had supported crime reduction and victim services, including training for nurses to provide forensic examinations to survivors. The lawmaker also warned that the administration's proposed fiscal 2027 budget would cut "tens of millions of dollars in grants from the Office on Violence Against Women," including housing and legal-assistance programs the speaker said are critical for survivors seeking safety.
The speaker further said the Crime Victims Fund — described in the remarks as serving more than 6,000,000 victims annually — is "nearly depleted," and urged colleagues to prioritize restoring programs that support survivors so they are not deprived of life-saving services. The lawmaker framed these programmatic supports as necessary complements to legal remedies such as protective orders and extreme risk protection orders.
Urging bipartisan action, the speaker asked Republican colleagues to commit to funding services, arguing that protective orders are of limited value if survivors cannot secure housing or legal assistance. The lawmaker closed by thanking witnesses and yielding the floor.
The hearing continued with testimony from invited witnesses.
