Contact Congress

When you take action on an issue like the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), it helps to understand who represents you in Washington and how best to contact them. Every person has three federal legislators: one U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators. Your Representative serves a smaller district within your state and is elected every two years, which means they are often very responsive to constituent concerns. Your Senators represent your entire state and serve six-year terms, with one-third of the Senate up for election every two years. Together, these three lawmakers form your voice in Congress, and you should contact all of them when you want to make your views heard.

Legislators generally prefer phone calls because staff keep tallies of how many constituents call about each issue, and those numbers are reported directly to the lawmaker. Calls are quick, countable, and highly effective. Emails are still valuable, especially if you take the time to personalize them with your own words or story. Offices can tell when hundreds of identical form letters arrive. Those still get counted, but they do not carry as much influence as a unique, thoughtful message.

To be effective, always include your name and address so the office knows you are a constituent. Share a personal connection to the issue, such as how VOCA funding affects you or your community, and make a clear request, such as: “Please support stable VOCA funding and prevent service cuts for victims.” Following up can also make a difference. If you do not hear back in a couple of weeks, consider reaching out again.

The best practice is to use both methods: call first to make sure your concern is recorded, then follow up with a personalized email that reinforces your message. By contacting all three of your legislators, your Representative and your two Senators, you ensure your voice is fully heard. When many constituents take these steps, it adds up to powerful advocacy.

Materials to assist your advocacy:

VOCA Impact

Crime Victims Fund Talking Points

Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025

Committee Contact List: Key committees that shape policy and appropriations affecting VOCA and the Crime Victims Fund

Subscribe to VOCA updates

📧 Email Your Legislator

1) Find Your Elected Officials

2) Click the button below to open your email app. Then copy and paste the full message from the box below into your email before sending.

✉️ Launch Email App

💡 Copy the full message below and paste it into your email before sending:

Dear ***LEGISLATOR NAME***,

I am a constituent from ***CITY, STATE***. I am writing to urge you to protect and strengthen the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).

The Crime Victims Fund, created by the Victims of Crime Act, has been a lifeline for millions of victims and survivors of crime, their families and their communities, since its establishment in 1984. VOCA has utilized offender-generated revenues — not taxpayer money — for a variety of victim assistance and crime victim compensation programs providing direct help through thousands of state, federal, local and tribal programs to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, terrorism, financial exploitation, stalking, robbery, truly victims of all types of crimes.

Unfortunately, over the past few years, the Crime Victims Fund has experienced a sharp decline in deposits. Notwithstanding Congress’s welcome enactment of the “VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund” and a brief respite in current deposits, we cannot be assured of a sustainable level of funding to maintain these vital services over the foreseeable future.

The CVF supports critical services for survivors of crime. Stable, adequate funding ensures survivors can access shelter, advocacy, counseling, legal assistance, and compensation when they need it most.

***OPTIONAL: ADD 1–3 SENTENCES ABOUT HOW VOCA IMPACTS YOUR COMMUNITY OR ORGANIZATION.***

I respectfully ask you to:
• Support policies and appropriations that ensure sustainable funds to the CVF and VOCA Assistance grants.
• Work with colleagues to develop and consider a long-term response to the historical fluctuations and uncertainty of future critical VOCA funding.

Sincerely,  
***YOUR NAME***  
***TITLE/ROLE, ORGANIZATION***  
***CITY, STATE***  
***EMAIL AND PHONE***