Taxpayer Watchdog Supports Toomey Amendment to Rein in Appropriators

For Immediate Release                                                                                              Contact: Courtney Mattison (202-535-7492)

July 20, 2021                                                                                                                  

Washington, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) supports Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R-Pa.) Senate Amendment 2121 to H.R. 1652, that would put up common sense guardrails on appropriations. The amendment would prevent the government from using budgetary gimmicks to turn the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) into a slush fund for big government projects.

In response, TPA President David Williams offered the following comment:

“With no taxpayer dollars being used at all, the CVF is a fund set up using only criminal fines and penalties to compensate the victims of crimes. It is absolutely shameful that some government officials want to withhold this money from crime victims so they can use it to fund partisan spending items. These changes in mandatory programs (CHIMPs) would allow appropriators to redirect unused CVF funds as an offset for budgetary items. And, unfortunately, the way this budget is structured, it incentivizes appropriators to use the money for purposes other than for crime victims.

“The Toomey Amendment is based on the bipartisan Fairness for Crime Victims Act. It establishes a minimum amount of money in the fund to be used for actual crime victims while safeguarding the solvency of the program. This is a common sense fix to ensure the CVF benefits those it was initially intended to, while creating a more transparent appropriations process. We urge members of the Senate to adopt this amendment.

If Congress has any dignity or respect for victims of crimes, this amendment would pass unanimously.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.