I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8997 

To eliminate civil asset forfeiture, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2020 

Mr. AMASH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To eliminate civil asset forfeiture, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civil Asset Forfeiture 

5 Elimination Act’’. 

6 TITLE I—FEDERAL FORFEITURE 

7 SEC. 101. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18. 

8 (a) GENERAL RULES FOR CIVIL FORFEITURE PRO9 CEEDINGS.—Section 983 of title 18, United States Code, 

10 is amended to read as follows: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8997 IH

1 ‘‘§ 983. Prohibiting civil forfeiture 

2 ‘‘No person shall be required, under the laws of the 

3 United States, to forfeit to the United States any prop4 erty, real or personal, pursuant to a civil forfeiture pro5 ceeding, including a nonjudicial civil forfeiture pro6 ceeding.’’. 

7 (b) FOREIGN FORFEITURE.—Section 981 of title 18, 

8 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 981. Forfeiture involving foreign countries 

10 ‘‘(a) ARREST OR CHARGE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any person is arrested or 

12 charged in a foreign country in connection with an 

13 offense that would give rise to the forfeiture of prop14 erty in the United States under the Controlled Sub15 stances Act, the Attorney General may apply to any 

16 Federal judge or magistrate judge in the district in 

17 which the property is located for an ex parte order 

18 restraining the property subject to forfeiture for not 

19 more than 30 days, except that the time may be ex20 tended for good cause shown at a hearing conducted 

21 in the manner provided in rule 43(e) of the Federal 

22 Rules of Civil Procedure. 

23 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The application for the re24 straining order shall set forth the nature and cir25 cumstances of the foreign charges and the basis for 

26 belief that the person arrested or charged has propVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8997.IH H8997

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8997 IH

1 erty in the United States that would be subject to 

2 forfeiture, and shall contain a statement that the re3 straining order is needed to preserve the availability 

4 of property for such time as is necessary to receive 

5 evidence from the foreign country or elsewhere in 

6 support of probable cause for the seizure of the 

7 property under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever property is 

10 criminally forfeited under this chapter, the Attorney 

11 General or the Secretary of the Treasury, as the 

12 case may be, may transfer the forfeited personal 

13 property or the proceeds of the sale of any forfeited 

14 personal or real property to any foreign country 

15 which participated directly or indirectly in the sei16 zure or forfeiture of the property, if such a trans17 fer— 

18 ‘‘(A) has been agreed to by the Secretary 

19 of State; 

20 ‘‘(B) is authorized in an international 

21 agreement between the United States and the 

22 foreign country; and 

23 ‘‘(C) is made to a country which, if appli24 cable, has been certified under section 490(b) of 

25 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8997 IH

1 A decision by the Attorney General or the Secretary 

2 of the Treasury pursuant to this subsection shall not 

3 be subject to review. The foreign country shall, in 

4 the event of a transfer of property or proceeds of 

5 sale of property under this subsection, bear all ex6 penses incurred by the United States in the seizure, 

7 maintenance, inventory, storage, forfeiture, and dis8 position of the property, and all transfer costs. The 

9 payment of all such expenses, and the transfer of as10 sets pursuant to this paragraph, shall be upon such 

11 terms and conditions as the Attorney General or the 

12 Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion, set. 

13 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The provisions 

14 of this section shall not be construed as limiting or 

15 superseding any other authority of the United States 

16 to provide assistance to a foreign country in obtain17 ing property related to a crime committed in the for18 eign country, including property which is sought as 

19 evidence of a crime committed in the foreign coun20 try. 

21 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Attorney General’ means the At23 torney General or his delegate; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8997 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Secretary of the Treasury’ 

2 means the Secretary of the Treasury or his dele3 gate.’’. 

4 (c) CIVIL FORFEITURE OF FUNGIBLE PROPERTY.— 

5 Section 984 of title 18, United States Code, is repealed. 

6 (d) CIVIL FORFEITURE OF REAL PROPERTY.—Sec7 tion 985 of title 18, United States Code, is repealed. 

8 (e) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—Section 986 of title 18, 

9 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘§ 986. Access to records in bank secrecy jurisdic11 tions 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any ancillary proceeding in 

13 any criminal forfeiture case governed by section 413(n) 

14 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853(n)), in 

15 which— 

16 ‘‘(1) financial records located in a foreign coun17 try may be material to any claim or to the ability 

18 of the Government to respond to such claim; and 

19 ‘‘(2) it is within the capacity of the claimant to 

20 waive the claimant’s rights under applicable finan21 cial secrecy laws, or to obtain the records so that 

22 such records can be made available notwithstanding 

23 such secrecy laws, 

24 the refusal of the claimant to provide the records in re25 sponse to a discovery request or to take the action necVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8997.IH H8997

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8997 IH

1 essary otherwise to make the records available shall be 

2 grounds for judicial sanctions, up to and including dis3 missal of the claim with prejudice. 

4 ‘‘(b) PRIVILEGE.—This section shall not affect the 

5 right of the claimant to refuse production on the basis of 

6 any privilege guaranteed by the Constitution of the United 

7 States or any other provision of Federal law.’’. 

8 (f) ANTI-TERRORIST FORFEITURE PROTECTION.— 

9 Section 987 of title 18, United States Code, is repealed. 

10 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of sec11 tions for chapter 46 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by amending the item related to section 981 

14 to read as follows: 

‘‘981. Forfeiture involving foreign countries.’’; 

15 (2) by amending the item related to section 983 

16 to read as follows: 

‘‘983. Prohibiting civil forfeiture.’’; 

17 (3) by striking the items related to sections 984 

18 and 985; 

19 (4) by amending the item related to section 986 

20 to read as follows: 

‘‘986. Access to records in bank secrecy jurisdictions.’’; and 

21 (5) by striking the item related to section 987. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 8997 IH

1 SEC. 102. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE CON2 TROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT. 

3 (a) CRIMINAL FORFEITURES.—Section 413 of the 

4 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (i)(4), by striking ‘‘provisions 

6 of section 511(e) of this title (21 U.S.C. 881(e))’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘provisions of section 511(a)’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (j)— 

9 (A) by amending the heading to read as 

10 follows: ‘‘APPLICABILITY OF FORFEITURE PRO11 VISIONS’’; 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘(1) Except’’; 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘section 511(d) of this title 

15 (21 U.S.C. 881(d))’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

16 (2)’’; and 

17 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) The provisions of law relating to the sei19 zure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and con20 demnation of property for violation of the customs 

21 laws; the disposition of such property or the pro22 ceeds from the sale thereof; the remission or mitiga23 tion of such forfeitures; and the compromise of 

24 claims shall apply to seizures and forfeitures in25 curred, or alleged to have been incurred, under any 

26 of the provisions of this title, insofar as applicable 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 8997 IH

1 and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof; ex2 cept that such duties as are imposed upon the cus3 toms officer or any other person with respect to the 

4 seizure and forfeiture of property under the customs 

5 laws shall be performed with respect to seizures and 

6 forfeitures of property under this title by such offi7 cers, agents, or other persons as may be authorized 

8 or designated for that purpose by the Attorney Gen9 eral, except to the extent that such duties arise from 

10 seizures and forfeitures effected by any customs offi11 cer.’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (n)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘pursuant to this sec15 tion may, within thirty days of the final 

16 publication of notice or his receipt of notice 

17 under paragraph (1), whichever is earlier,’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘may’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘The hearing shall be 

20 held before the court alone, without a 

21 jury.’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘the pe23 titioner may testify and present evidence and 

24 witnesses on his own behalf, and cross-examine 

25 witnesses who appear at the hearing.’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8997.IH H8997

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 8997 IH

1 serting ‘‘the petitioner or counsel for the peti2 tioner may testify and present evidence and wit3 nesses, and cross-examine witnesses who appear 

4 at the hearing. Upon any showing by the peti5 tioner or counsel for the petitioner that he has 

6 legal interest in property which has been or7 dered forfeited to the United States, there shall 

8 be established a rebuttable presumption that 

9 the order of forfeiture is invalid with respect to 

10 the petitioner’s interest in property.’’; 

11 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

12 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

13 (A), by striking ‘‘If, after the hearing, the 

14 court determines that the petitioner has es15 tablished’’ and inserting ‘‘In the case that 

16 there has been established a rebuttable 

17 presumption that the order of forfeiture is 

18 invalid with respect to the petitioner’s in19 terest in property, the Government may 

20 overcome such presumption if the Govern21 ment establishes’’; 

22 (ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

23 read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(A) the defendant has a legal right, title, 

25 or interest in the property, and such right, title, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 8997 IH

1 or interest renders the order of forfeiture valid 

2 in whole or in part because the right, title, or 

3 interest was vested in the defendant rather than 

4 the petitioner or was superior to any right, title, 

5 or interest of the petitioner at the time of the 

6 commission of the acts which gave rise to the 

7 forfeiture of the property under this section; 

8 or’’; 

9 (iii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B) the petitioner is not a bona fide pur12 chaser for value of the right, title, or interest 

13 in the property or, at the time of purchase, had 

14 cause to believe that the property was subject 

15 to forfeiture under this section.’’; and 

16 (iv) in the matter following subpara17 graph (B)— 

18 (I) by striking ‘‘the court’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘After the hearing, the 

20 court’’; and 

21 (II) by inserting before the pe22 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, or, if 

23 the forfeited property has already 

24 been disposed of by the Government 

25 in accordance with law, order the GovVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8997.IH H8997

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 8997 IH

1 ernment to compensate the petitioner 

2 for an amount equal to the value of 

3 the petitioner’s interest in the prop4 erty at the time the property was for5 feited’’; 

6 (D) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘Fol7 lowing the court’s disposition of all petitions 

8 filed under this subsection, or if no such peti9 tions are filed following the expiration of the 

10 period provided in paragraph (2) for the filing 

11 of such petitions’’ and inserting ‘‘180 days after 

12 final publication or receipt of notice under para13 graph (1)’’; and 

14 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(8)(A) If a person with standing to contest the 

16 forfeiture of property under this subsection is finan17 cially unable to obtain representation by counsel, 

18 and the property subject to forfeiture is real prop19 erty that is being used by the person as a primary 

20 residence, the court, at the request of the person, 

21 shall ensure that the person is represented by an at22 torney for the Legal Services Corporation with re23 spect to the claim. 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) At appropriate times during a represen25 tation under subparagraph (A), the Legal Services 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 8997 IH

1 Corporation shall submit a statement of reasonable 

2 attorney fees and costs to the court. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The court shall enter a judgment in favor of the 

4 Legal Services Corporation for reasonable attorney fees 

5 and costs submitted pursuant to clause (i) and treat such 

6 judgment as payable under section 2465 of title 28, 

7 United States Code, regardless of the outcome of the case. 

8 ‘‘(C) The court shall set the compensation 

9 for representation under this subsection, which 

10 shall be equivalent to that provided for court11 appointed representation under section 3006A 

12 of this title.’’. 

13 (b) FORFEITURES.—Section 511 of the Controlled 

14 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 881) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d); 

16 (2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub17 section (a); 

18 (3) in subsection (a)(1), as redesignated, by 

19 striking ‘‘civilly or’’; 

20 (4) by striking subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and 

21 (j); and 

22 (5) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 

23 (b). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 8997 IH

1 TITLE II—STATE FORFEITURE 

2 SEC. 201. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) The Constitution authorizes and obligates 

5 each branch of the Federal Government to protect 

6 individual rights. 

7 (2) Congress is specifically authorized by the 

8 Fourteenth Amendment to provide remedies for 

9 States’ violations of individual rights secured by the 

10 Constitution. 

11 (3) The Constitution secures the rights of indi12 viduals whom the Government seeks to punish for 

13 violating its laws. 

14 (4) The Government’s use of in rem pro15 ceedings to forfeit property to punish legal violations 

16 without affording property owners the rights of 

17 criminal defendants plainly violates their constitu18 tionally secured rights. 

19 (5) The Government’s use of a legal tool at the 

20 time of the founding does not preclude its being in21 compatible with constitutionally secured rights. 

22 (6) The long-term failure of Congress, presi23 dents, and the judiciary to recognize the illegitimacy 

24 of the Government’s civil forfeiture practices does 

25 not divest them of the authority to do so. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 8997 IH

1 (7) The Government cannot lawfully jettison 

2 the rights of the accused for the sake of convenience 

3 and profit. 

4 (8) The early use of civil forfeiture in the 

5 United States was limited to admiralty and revenue 

6 contexts, in which the existence of a legal violation 

7 and the identity of the property used to effect it 

8 were often self-evident, and the owner of the prop9 erty to be seized was often unobtainable. 

10 (9) Although the limitations on early civil for11 feiture practices do not prevent those practices from 

12 being constitutionally infirm, they do materially dis13 tinguish the early practices from modern civil for14 feiture. 

15 (10) The modern use of civil forfeiture by 

16 States is not limited to admiralty or revenue con17 texts, its reach extends far beyond property used to 

18 commit an offense, and it is used often to supple19 ment, rather than recover, the Government’s reve20 nues. 

21 (11) Civil forfeiture statutes and precedents in22 corporate certain protections for property owners 

23 that, although limited, erode the nature of the pro24 ceedings as truly in rem and betray the punitive 

25 character of civil forfeiture. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 8997 IH

1 (12) The tortured status of civil forfeiture in 

2 current law, in which the fiction of the property as 

3 the defendant is sustained, yet the interests of prop4 erty owners are, to a limited extent, nonetheless rec5 ognized, is the inevitable result of grandfathering 

6 civil forfeiture into a constitutional system that oth7 erwise secures the rights of the accused. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that the Constitution authorizes and obligates Con10 gress to prohibit the use of civil asset forfeiture by the 

11 States. 

12 SEC. 202. STATE CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Property owned by a person may 

14 be forfeited to a State pursuant to a civil proceeding only 

15 after— 

16 (1) criminal conviction of such person for viola17 tion of State criminal law; or 

18 (2) a civil proceeding in which— 

19 (A) the State proves that the person who 

20 owns the property has committed the offense 

21 giving rise to forfeiture; and 

22 (B) the person who owns such property is 

23 entitled to all rights applicable to criminal de24 fendants under the Constitution, including the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 8997 IH

1 right to be represented by counsel and the right 

2 to trial by jury. 

3 (b) FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION.—A person ag4 grieved by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil 

5 action against the State in the appropriate Federal district 

6 court for relief, including return of forfeited property and 

7 enforcement of the procedures described in subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 203. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

9 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

10 apply with respect to— 

11 (1) forfeiture proceedings occurring on or after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

13 (2) forfeiture proceedings pending on or after 

14 such date. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS