{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://schmidt.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-schmidt-backed-crime-victim-support-bill", "House passes Schmidt-backed Crime Victim-Support Bill", "2026-01-12", "2026", "2026-01", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Derek Schmidt", "S001228", "schmidt.house.gov", "schmidt", "https://schmidt.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 (January 12, 2026) \u2013 The House of Representatives today passed legislation Congressman Derek Schmidt (KS-02) helped lead to shore up support for victims of violent crime.\n\nThe Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act (H.R. 909) redirects unobligated funds collected through the False Claims Act to the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) through fiscal year (FY) 2029, stabilizing the CVF that has experienced falling revenues. Schmidt joined five colleagues in both political parties introducing the bill in February of last year.\n\n\u201cWhen I served as Kansas attorney general, I oversaw critical support services for victims and their families,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cRedirecting money from those who attempted to misuse funds to restore the Crime Victims Fund is a practical and responsible way to address the CVF\u2019s current funding gap. I thank the diligent work of my House colleagues and hope for a similar outcome in the Senate to get this bill on the President\u2019s desk.\u201d\n\nOn Monday, Schmidt spoke in favor of H.R. 909 on the House floor. His remarks can be found here.\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nThe CVF was created as a part of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to provide funding for victim assistance programs in all fifty states. This funding supports thousands of victim assistance programs, including child advocacy centers, domestic violence agencies, and rape crisis centers, serving an average of 3.7 million victims of crime per year.\n\nThe CVF is not funded by taxpayer dollars; rather, it is funded through fines, settlements, bonds, and monetary penalties associated with federal criminal prosecutions. While deposits into the CVF fluctuate annually depending on the cases prosecuted by the Department of Justice, the fund\u2019s balance has seen a drastic drop of 83% since fiscal FY 2017. This shortfall is forcing programs that support victims of child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault to either triage their services or close their doors entirely.", 1, "2026-05-01T06:06:26Z", "2026-05-01T06:08:22Z"]], "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://schmidt.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-schmidt-backed-crime-victim-support-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.689867116510868, "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"}