Victims' Rights

Protecting victims of crime should be a top priority for legislatures at all levels of government. When I came to Washington in 2005, there was a void in leadership on issues related to crime victims. After speaking with some of my colleagues, I gathered several like-minded representatives together and co-founded the first Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, which is now the Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus. This is a bipartisan caucus that seeks to represent crime survivors in the United States through legislation that reflects their interests, rights, and needs.

In each of the past years I have been in Congress, I led the effort to appropriate funds so that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Crime Victim's Fund, and Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCAA) could be reauthorized, ensuring that national sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence programs have adequate funding to continue helping our most vulnerable in our communities.

Crime survivors are our sons and daughters, husbands, brothers, wives, and mothers struggling to survive in the aftermath of crime and they deserve our help. I pledge to continue my advocacy on behalf of victims as the co-chair of the Congressional Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus, enacting compassionate policy and raising awareness of these crucial issues. Learn more about the Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus here.

Standing Up for Victims and Survivors of Crime

• Introduced H.R. 7419 - Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCAA) Reauthorization Act would provide funding to Children’s Advocacy Centers to help victims of child abuse and strengthen law enforcement’s response to hold perpetrators accountable.

• Introduced bipartisan legislation to formalize a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) to implement the use of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in child sexual abuse and exploitation cases.  

• Passed the American Rescue Plan which allocated nearly $1 million to support survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children. The funds were used to cover COVID-19 testing, vaccines, mobile health units, and other support for domestic violence services programs, sexual assault service providers, and culturally specific services.

• Successfully advocated and passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which reauthorized all current VAWA grant programs until 2027. Its reauthorization strengthened the response to healthcare services, sexual assault prevention, improved evidence-based practices, and increased access to services to cope and heal from trauma. Costa was an original co-sponsor of the bill. This bill was signed into law by President Biden as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 government funding bill.

• Passed the VOCA Fix Act of 2021, which addresses declining revenue by enabling new funding from out-of-court settlements, rather than relying directly on criminal cases, providing a significant boost to groups such as Fresno’s Marjaree Mason Center in helping crime victims and their families.

• Passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act allows sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors to elect to file a case in a court of law rather than be subject to forced arbitration provisions in cases involving sexual harassment or sexual assault, which deprive survivors of their rights. (Signed into Law)

• Co-sponsored and voted to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to help tackle the dramatic increase in hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.  (Signed into Law)

• Co-sponsored and voted to pass H.R. 2119 - Family Violence & Services Improvement Act, which would modify, expand, and reauthorize through the Fiscal Year 2026 the Family Violence and Prevention Services program, which funds emergency shelters and supports related assistance for victims of domestic violence.

Reducing Gun Violence

• Passed The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, historic gun reform that is the most significant piece of gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years.  From suicide and domestic violence to gun violence in our cities and mass shooting, the bill creates commonsense gun safety regulations to tackle the problem from all angles.

  • Provides for enhanced background checks for people under age 21 seeking to purchase a gun.

  • Requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement, for gun buyers under 21 years of age, creating an enhanced longer background check of up to ten days.

  • Includes $750 million to help states implement “red flag” laws to remove firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

  • Includes a key provision to close the “boyfriend loophole.”  Under this provision, individuals in “serious” “dating relationships” who are convicted of domestic abuse will be prevented from purchasing a gun.   

  • Provides funds for improving school security and for mental health services in schools.

• Co-sponsored and voted to pass H.R. 1808 - Assault Weapons Ban Act, which would make it unlawful for an individual to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The legislation would permit continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored.

• Passed H.R 6538 - Active Shooter Alert Act, which requires a designated officer of the Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network regarding an emergency involving an active shooter.

• Passed H.R. 8 – Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which would require a background check for every firearm sale.

• PassedH.R. 1446 - Enhanced Background Checks Act, which would strengthen background check requirements applicable to proposed firearm transfers from a federal firearms licensee (e.g., a licensed gun dealer) to an unlicensed person.

• Co-sponsored H.R. 7910, Protecting Our Kids Act which would make a significant difference in reducing gun violence. 

  • Ensuring individuals under 21 years of age cannot purchase assault weapons.

  • Banning the sale of and possession of large-capacity magazines.

  • Clarifying that bump stocks, which allow individuals to convert semiautomatic weapons into machine guns, are banned under federal law.