Senator Cornyn Calls on Senate to Support Justice for All Act During National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

This week is a very important week because it's National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Too often crime victims in our country aren’t treated with the sort of fairness and respect that they deserve, and it seems like so often we focus our attention on those who commit the crime and not nearly enough on those who are the victims of crime.

I'm proud to be working with the Senior Senator from Vermont, Senator Leahy, and Congressman Ted Poe of Houston, Texas, on the Justice for All Reauthorization Act. This is comprehensive legislation to increase rights and protections for crime victims across the country.

It will protect the housing rights of domestic violence victims and it will strengthen the forensic sciences to swiftly put criminals behind bars.

This legislation will also improve access to legal and health care resources for all victims, and it will ensure that we’re efficiently providing direct services for crime victims on a national basis. This legislation is supported by more than 130 different law enforcement and victim advocacy organizations nationwide.

This Chamber has done what it takes to help victims in the past, and we should continue to build on the legacy of legislation like the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, a law that is already making a clear difference in the lives of victims across the country.

So I encourage all of our colleagues to consider supporting the Justice for All Reauthorization Act. This is a bicameral, bipartisan proposal that would help victims get the support they need and they deserve. As advocates and survivors across the country use this week to highlight the needs of millions of crime victims, let's also remember that we have a responsibility and an opportunity to do something about it right here in this Chamber.