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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.

Back then, Congress turned to civil forfeiture laws to empower law enforcement authorities to seize and forfeit the ill-gotten gains of drug kingpins, criminal organizations, and money launderers, as well as the property they used to commit their crimes. To encourage the use of this newly enhanced tool, Congress created the Assets Forfeiture Fund and allowed federal law enforcement agencies to keep the proceeds of successful forfeitures.

Local, state, and federal lawmakers control none of this vast sum of money. Law enforcement agencies can spend it all outside normal appropriations processes.

The resulting lack of accountability and perverse financial incentive are troubling enough, but civil forfeiture laws go a step further. Innocent property owners quickly discover that the deck is stacked against them from the start. Prosecutors need only demonstrate that property is forfeitable by a preponderance of the evidence. To rebut this, property owners must essentially prove they are innocent, a complete reversal of Americas traditional presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

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.

Sometimes these cases make it no further than the side of the road, as law enforcement officials trade freedom for any cash that suspects are carrying. In a recent statement questioning the constitutionality of civil forfeiture,Justice Clarence Thomasreminded readers of the terrible systemic abuses in Tenaha, Texas. For three years, innocent, primarily minority drivers were threatened with arrest unless they voluntarily forfeited their money and valuables on the spot.

All the while, some officials have been caught letting likely criminals go free in exchange for their cash.One Oklahoma sheriff now faces criminal chargesfor releasing a meth dealer (who was later convicted in Kansas) on condition that he voluntarily forfeit $10,000.

Clearly, civil forfeiture law is in need of reform, and the FAIR Act proposes sweeping changes that match those called for byThe Heritage Foundation. Among other things, the bill provides for indigent defense in all forfeiture cases. It shifts the burden of proof squarely to the government, and requires that prosecutors make their case by clear and convincing evidence, a much higher bar than the preponderance standard, which mirrors state forfeiture reforms throughout the country.

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 presidents desk.

Poll after poll reveals broad public support for stronger protections against unjust and baseless seizures. Some even show aremarkably high percentage of Americanshave been directly affected by forfeiture.

We can no longer afford to ignore the problem. Congress can make 2017 the year of forfeiture reform.

Jason Snead (@JasonWSnead) is a policy analyst inThe Heritage Foundations Institute for Constitutional Government.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

Here is the original post:
Rand Paul, Tim Walberg Bring Forfeiture Reform to the 115th ... - The Hill (blog)

"I think that Paul Ryan's selling him a bill of goods that he didn't explain to the President, and the grassroots doesn't want what Paul Ryan is selling," the Kentucky Republican told CNN.

Paul was one of several lawmakers who took the stage in 20-degree weather outside of the Capitol, rallying conservatives to stand firm against the Republicans' health care bill that's making its way through the House. Conservatives feel that the bill doesn't go far enough in repealing Obamacare.

He urged voters to call other conservative members of the Freedom Caucus and urge them to "bring down the Paul Ryan plan," something he later called "Ryancare" to reporters.

"This is the very beginning of the battle, not the end of the battle," Paul said at the rally, which was hosted by the conservative group Freedomworks.

"But I promise you they will not negotiate until they discover they don't have our votes," he added. "But more importantly, they need to discover they do not have your votes."

Hitting back, Ryan told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" that he finds Paul's remarks "kind of puzzling," arguing that Republicans campaigned on the health care bill last year, and he took issue with Paul's argument that the "grassroots doesn't want" it.

"Frankly I think that's kind of an insulting remark to the President -- as if he doesn't know what he's doing," Ryan said.

The speaker said the White House is working "hand in glove" with the Republican plan.

"We think this is a smarter way to go," Ryan told Tapper. "The alternative is the status quo, and the status quo is in the middle of a collapse."

But Paul who was among a group of conservative senators that went to the White House on Tuesday -- argued that Trump "remains open to change."

It's House Republican leadership, he said, who remain inflexible and have "dug their heels in."

"They are not going to compromise," he told CNN. "So the only way that we are going to get to a compromise where they listen to the grassroots that wants complete repeal, the only way we got to that compromise is that we have to demonstrate to the House leadership that we have the votes to stop them."

The President hits the road Wednesday night with a campaign-style rally in Nashville where he's expected to try to sell the bill.

Next week he's slated to do the same in Louisville. Asked how he feels about the president targeting Paul's home state of Kentucky, Paul said he's "happy to have him" and that he and the president agree on the "repeal part" of Obamacare, but they're "still apart somewhat on replacement."

CNN's Devin Garbitt contributed to this story.

Read more from the original source:
Rand Paul says Paul Ryan selling 'bill of goods' to Trump - CNN

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday accused Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul of making "an insulting remark to the president" over the American Health Care Act's rollout this month.

Earlier Wednesday, Paul, a Republican, told CNN that Ryan, also a Republican, was selling Trump "a bill of goods that he didn't explain to the president that the grassroots doesn't want."

"Frankly, I think that is kind of an insulting remark to the president as if he doesn't know what he's doing or something. It makes it look like I find that kind of puzzling number one," Ryan told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Wednesday afternoon. "Number two, this plan the one we're passing, it's the one we ran on all of 2016. It is based upon the Tom Price bill which was seen as the conservative gold standard."

Four House committees are currently looking at revisions to the Obamacare replacement bill, but House GOP leadership is happy with the bill's frame. Paul would like to see Medicaid flexibility improved through the mark-up process.

Link:
Paul Ryan accuses Rand Paul of 'insulting remark to the president' - Washington Examiner

Less than an hour after House Speaker Paul Ryan committed to changes to "improve" a bill to repeal and partially replace Obamacare, Rand Paul called for a "pause" to the ongoing effort.

The Kentucky senator and members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday reiterated their call to fully repeal Obamacare instead of passing what they deemed a partial repeal that keeps some of the law's taxes in place. The meeting late Wednesday comes less than an hour after House Speaker Paul Ryan admitted to "improve" and "refine" the American Health Care Act.

"I don't think there will be meaningful negotiations unless it becomes apparent that the House bill cannot pass," Paul said outside of a House office late Monday. "That is what I am hoping will happens because I do not think the House bill lowers premiums for anybody."

Paul added that now "I think we need to take a pause and as I think as [GOP leadership] count the votes they will have to decide whether they are going to negotiate."

Ryan and Paul have clashed over the past few weeks over the bill, which Paul claims doesn't fully repeal Obamacare and creates a new entitlement by offering up tax credits.

Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said currently, the House doesn't have the votes to "modify" the current bill.

He later clarified that he is open to negotiations on the bill and that "we will negotiate in good faith."

Meadows added that based on a preliminary whip count of the House Freedom Caucus, the current version of the bill doesn't have the votes to pass the House.

Meadows declined to give a full number of how many people in the caucus would oppose the bill. The caucus is rumored to have between 35-40 members.

Also from the Washington Examiner

"The policy of strategic patience has ended," Tillerson said. "All options are on the table."

03/17/17 7:57 AM

The tacit admission from Ryan to improve the plan comes on the same day that Vice President Pence met with members of the Republican Study Committee, a group of more than 100 Republican lawmakers.

Pence didn't commit to any changes to the bill, including a desire to roll back the end of the Medicaid expansion to 2018 instead of 2020, but members walked away from the meeting confident their concerns were heard.

Currently, the bill goes before the House Budget Committee on Thursday. From there it will head to the House Rules Committee sometime next week and then move forward to a House floor vote.

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Rand Paul calls for 'pause' to overhaul Obamacare repeal bill - Washington Examiner

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., brought multiple copies of President Trump's best-selling book The Art of the Deal to the House Freedom Caucus meeting Wednesday on the Obamacare replacement bill.

Both Paul and the conservative group of lawmakers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the GOP bill, the American Health Care Act, which they say doesn't go far enough to dismantle Obamacare.

Pictures posted to Twitter by journalists show Paul, before the meeting, wearing a tuxedo and holding a copy of the president's 1987 memoir. He brought several copies to the meeting.

The Washington Examiner asked Paul's communications director, Sergio Gor, why Paul brought the books.

"Senator Rand Paul admires President Trump's negotiation skills and thought it would be helpful for conservatives to brush up ahead of negotiating on the 'Obamacare Lite' legislation being offered by the House," Gor said.

"Obamacare Lite" is the name the Kentucky senator has given to the GOP bill, which Trump supports.

Also from the Washington Examiner

"The policy of strategic patience has ended," Tillerson said. "All options are on the table."

03/17/17 7:57 AM

Several members of the House Freedom Caucus walked out of the meeting with a copy of The Art of the Deal in tow.

Robert King contributed to this report.

Originally posted here:
Why Rand Paul brought 'The Art of the Deal' to a meeting about Obamacare repeal - Washington Examiner