TO: Interested persons
FROM: Coalition to reform the federal forfeiture laws
DATE: Friday, February 25, 2000
SUBJECT: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled to vote on March 2.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its vote on the forfeiture reform bill (S. 1931) until Thursday, March 2, because key U.S. senators are still negotiating with the U.S. Department of Justice to see if the bill can be amended to address the Justice Department's concerns. (This is important because, ultimately, President Clinton will consult with the Justice Department when deciding whether to sign or veto the bill.)
If these negotiations are still underway as of Thursday morning, then the committee vote will likely be postponed again until Thursday, March 9.
If we are able to get a majority vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, then it is very likely that the full U.S. Senate will also pass the bill. (A forfeiture reform bill already passed the U.S. House in June.)
As you may know, current law allows federal agents to take your property without convicting you of -- or even charging you with -- a crime. In 85% of federal asset forfeiture cases, the owner of the property is never charged with a crime, yet government officials can -- and usually do -- keep the seized property for their own use. This is nothing short of "legal theft"!
PROJECT #1
Since http://www.forfeiture.org was unveiled on February 10, more than 5,000 people have used the site to send letters to their U.S. senators. California residents have submitted more than 1,600 letters, and more than 200 letters have been sent from each of the following 10 states: Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
If you haven't already done so, please visit http://www.forfeiture.org to send a letter in support of S. 1931 to your two U.S. senators.
With the click of a couple of buttons, you can send a pre-written letter to your two U.S. senators in less than two minutes. Thank you!
PROJECT #2
Would you please forward this entire e-mail message to your friends, family, and colleagues?
PROJECT #3
If you have some extra time, please visit the "letters to the editor" link on the front page of http://www.forfeiture.org to send a pre- written letter to your local newspapers.
WHO IS ON THE U.S. SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE?
According to our tabulations, the following four committee members have
already indicated their support of the Hatch/Leahy forfeiture reform
bill (S. 1931):
- Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
- Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
- Charles Grassley (R-Iowa)
- Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
The following five committee members are opposed to the bill:
- Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina)
- Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)
- Joe Biden (D-Delaware)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-California)
- Charles Schumer (D-New York)
And the following nine committee members are undecided:
- Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) .... 202-224-4254 / fax 202-228-1229
- Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) ............... 202-224-4521 / fax 202-228-1239
- Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) .............. 202-224-2315 / fax 202-224-6519
- John Ashcroft (R-Missouri) ........ 202-224-6154 / fax 202-228-0998
- Spencer Abraham (R-Michigan) ...... 202-224-4822 / fax 202-224-8834
- Bob Smith (R-New Hampshire) ....... 202-224-2841 / fax 202-224-1353
- Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) .. 202-224-4543 / fax 202-224-2417
- Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) ........... 202-224-5653 / fax 202-224-9787
- Robert Torricelli (D-New Jersey) .. 202-224-3224 / fax 202-224-8567