{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-hageman-sponsored-bill-protect-victims-voices", "House Passes Hageman Sponsored Bill to Protect Victims\u2019 Voices", "2024-07-23", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "House", "WY", "Harriet M. Hageman", "H001096", "hageman.house.gov", "hageman", "https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today, the House of Representatives passed the Victims\u2019 Voices Outside and Inside the Courtroom Effectiveness (Victims\u2019 VOICES) Act, which will ensure that a person assuming the rights of a crime victim is eligible to receive restitution in the form of necessary and reasonable expenses associated with participating in the investigation or prosecution of the offense; attending proceedings relating to the offense; or transporting a victim to receive medical, physical or occupational therapy, rehabilitation, or other services.\n\nRepresentative Hageman stated, \u201cUnder current federal law, those convicted of a crime may be required to pay restitution to their victim, however a person assuming rights for a victim, such as a husband, wife, mother, or father, may not be eligible for restitution, even when they play a necessary role in the legal process. This has been a far too common issue in crimes of violence and in tribal communities where locating and protecting missing and exploited women and children is a major challenge.\n\n\u201cThe bipartisan and bicameral Victims\u2019 VOICES Act will finally address this injustice and strengthen the ability to care for victims while effectively prosecuting criminals. I would like to thank my fellow Representative Lucy McBath (GA-07) for introducing this bill with me in the House, and U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), for leading the Senate companion.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:24:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-hageman-sponsored-bill-protect-victims-voices"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7636849768459797, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}