The Fairness for Crime Victims Act of 2025 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently introduced in the Senate and sent to the Committee on the Budget for review. The bill is actively moving forward as it awaits further study by committee members.
Legislative Progress
Senate
House
President
Law
Could go either way
Supporting crime victims is popular with both parties, but changing budget rules is often difficult because it limits how Congress can spend money in other areas.
How we got here
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
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Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 2661 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
This bill aims to stop Congress from using money meant for crime victims to pay for other government programs. Right now, lawmakers often limit how much money is released from the Crime Victims Fund to make the federal budget look better on paper.
The Crime Victims Fund is filled by fines and penalties paid by convicted criminals rather than taxpayer dollars. This money provides vital services for survivors of child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
The proposal creates a new rule that makes it harder for Congress to cut victim funding. It would require that the amount of money released each year stays in line with the average amount of money collected from fines over the previous three years.
Supporters say that since the year 2000, Congress has held back more than $10 billion that should have gone to victims. This bill would ensure that money collected from criminals is used to help the people they hurt.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
2 milestones2 actions
Jan 28, 2025Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Jan 28, 2025
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Fairness for Crime Victims Act of 2025
Bill NumberS 285
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
