#tim walberg
Rand Paul has teamed up with Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan to completely reform civil asset forfeiture law in the United States.
Written by Jason Snead for The Hill:
On Thursday, Sen. Rand Pau (R-Ky) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act in Congress. The bill, if passed, would be the most sweeping reform of abuse-prone federal civil forfeiture law since the 1980s. …
Local, state, and federal lawmakers control none of this vast sum of money. Law enforcement agencies can spend it all outside normal appropriations processes. …
Most cases never get as far as a courtroom, though, and end instead in so-called administrative forfeitures. In these instances, the law enforcement agency that seized the property – and stands to gain financially by keeping it – plays the role of judge, prosecutor, and jury all in one. …
Crucially, the FAIR Act would also eliminate the forfeiture financial incentive altogether. Federal forfeiture proceeds would go directly to the general fund to be dispersed by Congress, and the equitable sharing program would be abolished. Federal agencies would no longer be able to seize their way to higher budgets, and state and local officials would no longer be incentivized to bypass more restrictive state forfeiture laws.
Paul and Walberg first introduced the FAIR Act in 2014. At the time, civil forfeiture was something few people had heard of, and there appeared to be little appetite for reform. But in the years since, dozens of state legislatures have reined in their abuse-prone forfeiture statutes, and last year Congress advanced several forfeiture-reform bills, though none has yet made it to the president’s desk.
Poll after poll reveals broad public support for stronger protections against unjust and baseless seizures. Some even show a remarkably high percentage of Americans have been directly affected by forfeiture.
We can no longer afford to ignore the problem. Congress can make 2017 the year of forfeiture reform.
Watch for yourself. When asked about her plan for the National Debt, it becomes obvious that Gretchen Driskell has no plan at all. The best she could come up with was to direct the questioner to a game. Learn more at http://BadFiscalDriskell.com
