Amash, Gabbard Lead Major Victory Against Civil Asset Forfeiture

image
Shawn M GriffithsShawn M Griffiths
Published: 13 Sep, 2017
1 min read

A unique bipartisan coalition led by US Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) scored a huge victory on Civil Asset Forfeiture Tuesday.

The US House approved an amendment -- added to the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act -- to rollback Attorney General Jeff Session's plan to revive a federal civil asset forfeiture program that allowed local and state law enforcement to seize assets and property from suspects and give them to the federal government without the suspect being charged or convicted of a crime.

The federal government would then give a chunk of these assets back to the local departments.

Heavy restrictions were put on the program -- called the Equitable Sharing Program -- under the Obama administration. AG Sessions, however, announced in June that the federal government was going to revive and expand it.

https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/907706798261633026

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/907738802009067520

RELATED ARTICLE: The DEA Doesn’t Care About Guilt or Innocence… It Just Wants Your Money

The vote comes as a surprise to some as many House Republicans and Democrats joined forces to challenge the administration's policy -- potentially causing a bigger intra-party rift within the GOP in Congress and its relationship with the Trump administration.

The amendment had a total of nine co-sponsors from across the political aisle.

IVP Donate

The Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act is an appropriations act for several government agencies across many departments for the next fiscal year. It is awaiting approval from Congress.

You Might Also Like

broken california map
EXCLUSIVE: California Commissioner Says Lawmakers Gutted Their Funding BEFORE Prop 50
The fate of California’s independently drawn congressional districts will be decided on November 4, when voters weigh in on a legislative gerrymander and the suspension of congressional maps from the state's independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) under Proposition 50....
08 Oct, 2025
-
8 min read
fl-let-us-vote
Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Opening Florida’s Primaries to 3.4M Independent Voters
A new statewide poll finds near-unanimous agreement among both Democratic and independent voters that Florida’s primaries should be opened to the state’s 3.4 million “No Party Affiliation” (NPA) voters who are currently shut out of taxpayer-funded elections....
10 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read