Federal Policy Advocacy

Federal Public Policy Initiatives

OAESV’s public policy work extends to the federal level. We encourage our members’ and the public’s participation to advocate with Ohio’s Congressional Delegation and amplify survivor voices and policy priorities. OAESV staff partner with the National Alliance to End Sexual Assault to advance priority legislation. Among these priorities are annual appropriations for sexual violence funding, such as: the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).

Victims of Crime Act

The Victims of Crime Act is the largest source of federal funding for domestic and sexual violence services in the country. VOCA’s Crime Victims Fund (CVF) was created by Congress in 1984 to provide grants to state and local programs that assist victims.  The Fund is derived entirely from fines and penalties paid by federal criminal offenders, not taxpayer revenues.

VOCA Fix Act – Passed in 2021

In 2021, Congress passed the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 , or VOCA Fix Act, (H.R. 1652) with bipartisan support. While the VOCA Fix has been working, it has not been sufficient to completely replenish the Crime Victims Fund. Further drastic reductions will result in major cuts to essential crime victim services.

Crime Victim Fund Stabilization Act (CVFSA) – Introduced, Not Yet Passed in 2025

Ohio Members of Congress Michael Turner, Mike Carey, Greg Landsman, Emilia Sykes, Max Miller, and David Joyce, have signed on as co-sponsors to the Crime Victim Fund Stabilization Act (H.R. 909), a bi-partisan bill aiming to stabilize the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) from which essential grants supporting crime victim services are funded.

The companion bill in the U.S. Senate, S. 1892, currently has no Ohio U.S. Senators signed on to co-sponsor.

The proposed legislation would redirect funds collected through the False Claims Act (FCA) into the CVF through FY2029. The bill explicitly ensures that payments to whistleblowers and defrauded government agencies as stipulated by the FCA will not be affected. The collections that would currently go to the general fund of the Treasury would instead be deposited into the CVF to help address the recent Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding shortfall.

FY2026 Asks to Support VOCA:

  • Maintain level funding in the FY26 federal budget by releasing $1.9 billion from the CVF to U.S. states and territories
  • Reject proposals that use the VOCA fund to pay for other U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) programs since that reduces funding for direct victim services
  • Pass the Crime Victim Fund Stabilization Act that provides additional funding to VOCA, from surplus funds generated by the False Claims Act

Violence Against Women Act

In 1994, The Violence Against Women Act became law providing federal funding to: provide services for victims of rape and domestic violence, provide training to increase police and court officials’ response to gender-based violence crimes, and provide that states and American Indian nations give full faith and credit to protection orders issued in another jurisdiction. VAWA has since been reauthorized four times: These reauthorizations occurred in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022. VAWA reauthorizations strengthen and expand the original Violence Against Women Act by providing resources for survivors, enhancing legal protections, and addressing new forms of violence. They reauthorize grant programs, expand tribal court jurisdiction, improve housing protections, and increase support for underserved communities.

FY2026 Federal Appropriations for VAWA

  • We recommend & urge Congress to allocate $1.15 billion for VAWA in FY26
  • The President’s proposed FY26 budget proposes $505.50 million for VAWA, a 29% reduction from FY24 and FY25 enacted levels.

Rape Prevention Education Act (RPE)

The RPE program was established by VAWA and focuses on the primary prevention of sexual violence (stopping violence before it even has the chance to happen). The RPE program, historically housed within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), works to prevent sexual violence by providing funding to state and territorial health departments in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and state, territorial, and tribal sexual assault coalitions.

FY2026 Federal Appropriations for RPE

  • We recommend & urge Congress to allocate $100 million for RPE in FY26
  • The President’s proposed FY26 budget proposes block granting RPE, DELTA and other Injury Center functions and funding RPE, DELTA, and all domestic and sexual violence prevention combined at $38 million which would be a huge cut to both programs given that DELTA was funded at $7.5 million and RPE was funded at $61.75 in FY25.
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