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Please distribute this memo widely. Ask your family and friends to visit http://www.forfeiture.org as soon as possible. Thanks!
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TO: Interested persons
FROM: Coalition to reform the federal forfeiture laws
DATE: Tuesday, February 22, 2000
SUBJECT: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to vote on forfeiture bill!
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We have just learned that the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on forfeiture reform legislation (S. 1931) on Thursday, February 24.

Key U.S. senators are currently 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 until Thursday, March 2.

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"!

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PROJECT #1

Since http://www.forfeiture.org was unveiled on February 10, nearly 4,000 people have used the site to send 7,000 letters to their U.S. senators. California residents have submitted more than 1,000 letters, and hundreds of letters have been sent from each of the following four states: Florida, New York, Ohio, and Texas.

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!

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PROJECT #2

Would you please forward this entire e-mail message to your friends, family, and colleagues?

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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.

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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)
- Jon Kyl (R-Arizona)
- Mike DeWine (R-Ohio)
- John Ashcroft (R-Missouri)
- Spencer Abraham (R-Michigan)
- Bob Smith (R-New Hampshire)
- Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
- Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin)
- Robert Torricelli (D-New Jersey)

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