{
  "id": "R44579",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44579",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 454812,
      "date": "2016-08-03",
      "retrieved": "2016-09-09T19:04:04.676786",
      "title": "Federal Assistance for Victims of Terrorism or Mass Violence: In Brief",
      "summary": "Following incidents of terrorism or mass violence in the United States, jurisdictions and individuals may be eligible to receive various types of victim assistance both directly from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and indirectly from DOJ through their respective state victim assistance agencies or other programs. While circumstances in some incidents may result in a jurisdiction\u2019s eligibility for assistance from other federal departments, such as Department of Education grants awarded to Newtown Public School District in recovery efforts from the Newtown, CT, elementary school shooting, this report focuses solely on assistance available from DOJ\u2019s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)\u2014the primary federal assistance available to victims of terrorism or mass violence.\nAs authorized by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA, P.L. 98-473), the OVC supports several federal programs that may assist victims of terrorism or mass violence. Grant programs include the victim assistance and victim compensation formula grant programs and the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP). Other programs and operations directly assist victims, including the Victim Assistance Program at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), victim witness assistance at the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys, the International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program (ITVERP), the Victim Reunification Travel Program, and various supplemental grants to and agreements with agencies and organizations that provide assistance to victims of terrorism or mass violence. \nThese activities are funded by the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), an account within the U.S. Treasury that is not funded through traditional appropriations but largely through the collection of federal criminal fines. At the end of FY2015, the balance of the CVF was over $12 billion. The Director of the OVC is authorized to set aside $50 million of CVF money in the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve, which funds operations that support victims of terrorism and mass violence. From FY2014 through July 2016, the OVC has distributed $42.2 million toward activities funded by the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve in response to incidents including, but not limited to, the Boston Marathon bombing, Newtown school shooting, and Charleston church shooting.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
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          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44579",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Crime Policy",
    "Intelligence and National Security"
  ]
}