# 119-s-4500: VICTIM Act of 2026

119-s-4500, VICTIM Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA); status introduced (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4500
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4500
- Congress: 119
- Title: VICTIM Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-12
- Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**create federal grants to improve homicide and firearm-crime clearance rates**. This bill would have the Attorney General run a COPS grant program to pay for staffing, training, technology, victim services, reporting, and oversight aimed at raising clearance rates for homicides and firearm-related violent crimes. - Local, state, and Tribal law enforcement could apply for money to hire and train homicide and firearm investigators and to buy or upgrade forensic and evidence-processing technology. Projects may also fund trauma-informed interviewing, officer stress programs, and internal policy changes to boost clearance. - At least 5 percent of each year’s funding would go to Tribal agencies and at least 5 percent to rural agencies, and the bill would authorize $60.0 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. - Grant recipients must provide annual reports through fiscal year 2032 on staffing, training, technology, clearance rates, and victim and suspect demographics, while the DOJ Inspector General would audit the program and the National Institute of Justice would evaluate practices every two years. *Would authorize $60.0 million per year for FY2027–FY2031, totaling $300.0 million in authorized appropriations.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New grants to boost homicide clearances: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Attorney General would create a grant program in the COPS office to raise clearance rates for homicides and firearm-related violent crimes. The program would get $60,000,000 a year for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (about $300 million total). State, Tribal, and local law en…
- Annual reports and program audits: mixed, medium. If enacted, each grant recipient would send annual reports to the Attorney General starting one year after their grant and continuing through fiscal year 2032. The Justice Department inspector general would begin audits the first fiscal year after the program starts and audit annually. A recipient…
- New rules for counting clearances: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would define key program terms. "Clearance by arrest" would mean an arrest, charge, and referral for prosecution or citation of a juvenile. "Clearance by exception" would mean a known suspect and sufficient evidence but an outside reason stops arrest, like suspect death or vict…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-873: Fighter Force Preservation and Recapitalization Act of 2025
- 119-s-3257: John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act
- 119-s-4189: INSULIN Act of 2026
- 119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act
- 119-s-2461: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-4500 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4500)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-873: Fighter Force Preservation and Recapitalization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-873)
- [119-s-3257: John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3257)
- [119-s-4189: INSULIN Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4189)
- [119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3940)
- [119-s-2461: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2461)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4500 (as of 2026-08-11).