IB 

Union Calendar No. 702 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5283 

[Report No. 114–892, Part I] 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform certain forfeiture 

procedures, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2016 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. GOODLATTE, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. ISSA, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. COHEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. 

CHAFFETZ, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. TROTT, 

Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California, and Mr. COLLINS of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services and 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 

DECEMBER 23, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. NADLER, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. SCOTT

of Virginia, Mr. BISHOP of Michigan, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. LEWIS

DECEMBER 23, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 23, 2016 

The Committees on Financial Services and Energy and Commerce discharged; 

committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 

Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 19, 2016] 


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A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform certain 

forfeiture procedures, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘DUE PROCESS Act 

5 of 2016’’ or the ‘‘Deterring Undue Enforcement by Pro6 tecting Rights of Citizens from Excessive Searches and Sei7 zures Act of 2016’’. 

8 SEC. 2. GENERAL RULES FOR CIVIL FORFEITURE PRO9 CEEDINGS. 

10 Section 983(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘COM13 PLAINT’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPLAINT; INITIAL HEAR14 ING’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

17 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘60 days’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 

19 (ii) by striking clause (ii); 

20 (iii) in clause (iii)— 

21 (I) in the matter preceding sub22 clause (I)— 

23 (aa) by striking ‘‘60-day’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘30-day’’; and 


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1 (bb) by striking ‘‘does not 

2 file’’ and all that follows through 

3 ‘‘obtain’’ and inserting ‘‘obtains’’; 

4 and 

5 (II) in subclause (I), by striking 

6 ‘‘60 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 

7 (iv) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘90 

8 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’; 

9 (v) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘60 days’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; and 

11 (vi) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(vi) The notice under this subparagraph shall 

13 include an address, which shall also be widely pub14 lished, at which the seizing agency can receive until 

15 5 p.m. on any business day an interested party’s 

16 claim contesting a seizure or forfeiture. The interested 

17 party may send such a claim to that address by cou18 rier or overnight mail. For the purpose of deter19 mining compliance with any deadlines in filing such 

20 a claim, an interested party completes the filing by 

21 placing the communication making the claim in the 

22 control of an independent third party delivery service 

23 such as a courier company or the United States mail. 

24 In determining whether any legal deadline for the fil25 ing of such a claim has been met a court shall allow 


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1 for the equitable tolling of the deadline in appropriate 

2 cases. 

3 ‘‘(vii) The seizing agency shall make publicly 

4 available for each nonjudicial forfeiture, with respect 

5 to which a request for mitigation or remission is 

6 made, a statement of the agency’s disposition of that 

7 request, redacted if necessary, including the reasons 

8 for the decision.’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘60’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘30’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘which period may’’ 

13 and all that follows through ‘‘as necessary,’’; 

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

15 ‘‘(G) Any notice described in subparagraph (A) 

16 that is provided to a party shall include notice of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the right of the party to request an ini18 tial hearing in accordance with paragraph (5); 

19 ‘‘(ii) the right of the party to be represented 

20 by counsel at the initial hearing described in 

21 clause (i) and any civil forfeiture proceeding 

22 under a civil forfeiture statute; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) the right of the party to request that 

24 the party be represented by counsel at the initial 

25 hearing described in clause (i) and any civil forVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:27 Dec 23, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5283.RH H5283

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1 feiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute 

2 if the party meets the requirements described in 

3 subsection (b).’’; and 

4 (D) by striking ‘‘nonjudicial’’ each place it 

5 appears; 

6 (3) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘non7 judicial’’; 

8 (4) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘35 days’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘65 days’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘60 days’’; 

13 (5) so that subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) 

14 reads as follows: 

15 ‘‘(A) Not later than 90 days after a claim has 

16 been filed, the Government shall file a complaint for 

17 forfeiture in the manner set forth in the Supplemental 

18 Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims or 

19 return the property pending the filing of a complaint, 

20 except that a court in the district in which the com21 plaint has been filed may extend the period for filing 

22 a complaint upon agreement of the parties.’’; and 

23 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(5)(A) A party claiming property seized in a 

25 civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 


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1 statute may request, not later than 30 days after the 

2 date on which a notice described in paragraph (1)(A) 

3 is received or if notice is not received, not later than 

4 30 days after the date of final publication of notice 

5 of seizure, an initial hearing to take place before a 

6 magistrate judge in the appropriate United States 

7 district court not later than the date on which a civil 

8 forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute 

9 relating to the seized property commences. 

10 ‘‘(B) If a party makes a request under subpara11 graph (A), a magistrate judge shall conduct an initial 

12 hearing not later than 10 days after the date on 

13 which the request is made. 

14 ‘‘(C) At the initial hearing— 

15 ‘‘(i) the magistrate judge shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) inform the party in easily under17 stood terms of— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the right of the party to be 

19 represented by counsel at the initial 

20 hearing and any civil forfeiture pro21 ceeding under a civil forfeiture statute; 

22 ‘‘(bb) the right of the party to re23 quest that the party be represented by 

24 counsel at the initial hearing and any 

25 civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil 


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1 forfeiture statute if the magistrate 

2 judge finds that the party meets the re3 quirements described in subsection (b); 

4 ‘‘(cc) sufficiently detailed facts re5 garding the seizure of the property if 

6 the property was seized pursuant to a 

7 warrant described in the matter pre8 ceding subparagraph (A) of section 

9 981(b)(2); and 

10 ‘‘(dd) the right of the party to 

11 challenge the lawfulness of the seizure 

12 of the property, including on the 

13 grounds that at the time the property 

14 was seized— 

15 ‘‘(AA) if the property was 

16 seized pursuant to a warrant de17 scribed in the matter preceding 

18 subparagraph (A) of section 

19 981(b)(2), the warrant was not 

20 supported by probable cause; or 

21 ‘‘(BB) if the property was 

22 seized without a warrant de23 scribed in subitem (AA), none of 

24 the exceptions described in sub25 paragraphs (A) and (B) of section 


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1 981(b)(2) apply to the seizure of 

2 the property; and 

3 ‘‘(II) if the party meets the require4 ments described in subsection (b), authorize 

5 counsel to represent the party or insure that 

6 the party is represented by an attorney for 

7 the Legal Services Corporation, as applica8 ble, in accordance with that subsection; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the burden of proof is on the Govern10 ment to establish that at the time the property 

11 was seized— 

12 ‘‘(I) if the property was seized pursu13 ant to a warrant described in the matter 

14 preceding subparagraph (A) of section 

15 981(b)(2), the warrant was supported by 

16 probable cause; or 

17 ‘‘(II) if the property was seized with18 out a warrant described in subclause (I)— 

19 ‘‘(aa) sufficiently detailed facts re20 garding the seizure of the property; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(bb) an exception described in 

23 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 

24 981(b)(2) applies to the seizure of the 

25 property. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The magistrate judge shall enter an order 

2 for the immediate release of the seized property with 

3 prejudice to the right of the Government to commence 

4 a civil forfeiture proceeding at a later time if the 

5 magistrate judge finds that— 

6 ‘‘(i) the requirements described in subpara7 graphs (A) through (E) of subsection (f)(1) are 

8 met; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Government did not meet the bur10 den of proof described in subparagraph (C)(ii).’’. 

11 SEC. 3. REPRESENTATION. 

12 Section 983(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial 

17 civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 

18 statute is financially unable to obtain representation 

19 by counsel, and the property subject to forfeiture is 

20 real property that is being used by the person as a 

21 primary residence’’ and inserting ‘‘civil forfeiture 

22 proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute is finan23 cially unable to obtain representation by counsel’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. BURDEN OF PROOF. 

2 Section 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a preponder5 ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con6 vincing evidence’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘a preponder8 ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con9 vincing evidence’’. 

10 SEC. 5. RIGHT TO REQUEST HEARING ON PRETRIAL RE11 STRAINT OF PROPERTY TO RETAIN COUNSEL 

12 OF CHOICE. 

13 (a) TITLE 18.—Section 1963(d) of title 18, United 

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 

18 court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 

19 the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 

20 any other action to preserve the availability of property de21 scribed in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this section— 

22 ‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or informa23 tion charging a violation of section 1962 and alleging 

24 that the property with respect to which the order is 

25 sought would, in the event of conviction, be subject to 

26 forfeiture under this section; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 

2 information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 

3 have an interest in the property and opportunity for 

4 a hearing, the court determines that— 

5 ‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 

6 the United States will prevail on the issue of for7 feiture and that failure to enter the order will re8 sult in the property being destroyed, removed 

9 from the jurisdiction of the court, or otherwise 

10 made unavailable for forfeiture; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability of 

12 the property through the entry of the requested 

13 order outweighs the hardship on any party 

14 against whom the order is to be entered. 

15 ‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 

16 violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 

17 ordered under this section and against whom the order is 

18 entered, supported by an affidavit, the court shall hold a 

19 hearing to determine whether to modify or rescind, in whole 

20 or in part, an order entered under subparagraph (A) to 

21 allow the defendant to use the property subject to the order 

22 to retain counsel of choice. 

23 ‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 

24 ‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de25 fendant with respect to the violation of section 1962 


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1 for which criminal forfeiture is ordered under this 

2 section; 

3 ‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 

4 whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 

5 under this section; 

6 ‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de7 fendant; and 

8 ‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 

9 ‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 

10 (A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, unless— 

11 ‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause shown; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 

14 subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de16 fendant committed a violation of section 1962 for 

17 which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under this 

18 section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘believe’’. 

19 (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—Section 413(e) 

20 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853(e)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 

25 court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 


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1 the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 

2 any other action to preserve the availability of property de3 scribed in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this section— 

4 ‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or informa5 tion charging a violation of this title or title III for 

6 which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under this 

7 section and alleging that the property with respect to 

8 which the order is sought would, in the event of con9 viction, be subject to forfeiture under this section; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 

11 information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 

12 have an interest in the property and opportunity for 

13 a hearing, the court determines that— 

14 ‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 

15 the United States will prevail on the issue of for16 feiture and that failure to enter the order will re17 sult in the property being destroyed, removed 

18 from the jurisdiction of the court, or otherwise 

19 made unavailable for forfeiture; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability of 

21 the property through the entry of the requested 

22 order outweighs the hardship on any party 

23 against whom the order is to be entered. 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 

25 violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 


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1 ordered under this section and against whom the order is 

2 entered, supported by an affidavit sufficient to demonstrate 

3 a genuine need for the defendant to use the property subject 

4 to an order entered under subparagraph (A) to retain coun5 sel of choice, the court shall hold a hearing to determine 

6 whether to modify or rescind, in whole or in part, the order 

7 to allow the defendant to use the property to retain counsel 

8 of choice. 

9 ‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 

10 ‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de11 fendant with respect to the violation of this title or 

12 title III for which criminal forfeiture is be ordered 

13 under this section; 

14 ‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 

15 whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 

16 under this section; 

17 ‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de18 fendant; and 

19 ‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 

20 ‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 

21 (A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, unless— 

22 ‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause shown; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 

25 subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de2 fendant committed a violation of this title or title III 

3 for which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under 

4 this section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘be5 lieve’’. 

6 SEC. 6. RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS FEES. 

7 Section 2465(b) of title 28, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘substan10 tially’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) If the claim is resolved by a settlement in which 

13 the claimant prevails, the claimant is entitled to attorneys 

14 fees under this subsection to the same extent that the claim15 ant would be if a judgment were issued in the proceeding 

16 for the property recovered under the settlement. The pay17 ment of attorneys fees under this subsection may not be 

18 waived as a part of any settlement with the claimant. That 

19 payment is not subject to any offset or deduction by the 

20 United States in connection with any claim the United 

21 States may have against the claimant. 

22 ‘‘(4) For the purposes of this subsection, a claimant 

23 prevails if the claimant recovers more than 50 percent, by 

24 value, of the money or other property that is claimed.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. ANNUAL AUDIT OF CIVIL FORFEITURES. 

2 The Inspector General shall annually conduct an audit 

3 of a representative sample of Federal civil forfeitures under 

4 statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, United States 

5 Code, to ensure those forfeitures are constitutionally sound 

6 and consistent with the letter and spirit of the law. The 

7 Department of Justice Inspector General shall report the 

8 results of the audit to the Attorney General and to Congress. 

9 Such report shall also include the fiscal status of the Asset 

10 Forfeiture Fund and Treasury Forfeiture Fund, including 

11 any projected growth or shrinking of the Funds in future 

12 years, and the viability of the Funds. 

13 SEC. 8. PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASES. 

14 (a) QUARTERLY UPDATED DATABASE ON DETAILS OF

15 FORFEITURES.—The Attorney General shall establish and 

16 maintain, with updates on a quarterly basis, a publicly 

17 available database that describes with respect to seizures for 

18 all Federal civil forfeiture containing the following: 

19 (1) For each such seizure: 

20 (A) Unit of an agency responsible for the 

21 seizure, and the location, including at a min22 imum the State, city, and judicial district where 

23 and date when the seizure took place. 

24 (B) The type of initial seizure (such as dur25 ing a stop based on probable cause, or pursuant 

26 to a Federal warrant). 


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1 (C) The nature and value of the seized 

2 property. 

3 (D) In what manner forfeiture of seized 

4 property was conducted (whether by a civil or 

5 administrative proceeding, through settlement, or 

6 otherwise). 

7 (E) Whether a forfeiture of the seized prop8 erty was of the entire property, or only a part, 

9 and if partial, the proportion of the whole that 

10 was forfeited. 

11 (F) The disposition of the seized property, 

12 the date of forfeiture, if any, and the date the 

13 disposition took place. 

14 (G) What type of criminal activity any for15 feited property relates to. 

16 (H) Whether any forfeited money was re17 turned to the victim of a crime in connection 

18 with which the forfeiture occurred, and the 

19 amount returned. 

20 (I) The status of any concurrent or related 

21 criminal proceeding against the owner of the 

22 property, any pending case under title 11 in 

23 which the owner of record of the property is the 

24 debtor, and any pending civil case in which a 


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1 receiver has been ordered to take control of the 

2 property. 

3 (J) Whether the forfeiture was contested. 

4 (K) Whether the innocent owner made a 

5 claim on the property. 

6 (L) The total expenses associated with the 

7 forfeiture. 

8 (M) The total net proceeds of the forfeiture. 

9 (N) Demographic information on the person 

10 or persons subject to the seizure. 

11 (2) A statistical breakdown for each agency of 

12 the cases of remission and mitigation, including— 

13 (A) the numbers of requests for remission 

14 and mitigation that were— 

15 (i) fully granted; 

16 (ii) partially granted; or 

17 (iii) returned; and 

18 (B) with respect to requests that were par19 tially granted— 

20 (i) the average percentage of the value 

21 of seized property that was returned to the 

22 owner; and 

23 (ii) what percentage of requests re24 sulted in returned property in each of the 

25 following categories: 


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1 (I) More than zero but less than 

2 25 percent of the property was re3 turned. 

4 (II) 25 percent or more of the 

5 property was returned, but less than 

6 50 percent. 

7 (III) 50 percent or more of the 

8 property was returned, but less than 

9 75 percent. 

10 (IV) 75 percent or more of the 

11 property was returned, but less than 

12 100 percent. 

13 (3) Any money given from the Asset Forfeiture 

14 Fund or Treasury Forfeiture Fund to State or local 

15 law enforcement for Joint Law Enforcement Oper16 ations (commonly referred to as ‘‘JLEO’’) funding, or 

17 for any other purpose, and the name of the State or 

18 local entity receiving that funding. 

19 (b) REAL-TIME DATABASE TO ASSIST PERSONS

20 WHOSE PROPERTY IS SEIZED.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General 

22 shall establish and maintain, with updates on a real23 time basis, a database, organized by State and coun24 ty, with respect to each Federal seizure of real and 

25 personal property for Federal civil forfeiture under 


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1 statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, United 

2 States Code. 

3 (2) DESIGN.—The Attorney General shall design 

4 the database to allow any interested party, including 

5 any owner, creditor, or lienholder, to determine 

6 whether that party has an interest in any such prop7 erty and to inform that party, and the general public, 

8 on the specifics of how to contest each seizure before 

9 the forfeiture. 

10 (c) HEADS OF AGENCIES TO SUBMIT INFORMATION

11 FOR DATABASES.—Not less frequently than quarterly, on 

12 a schedule determined by the Attorney General, the head 

13 of each Federal agency shall submit to the Attorney General 

14 a report that provides, in such form as the Attorney General 

15 may prescribe, the information the Attorney General is re16 quired to include in the databases established under this 

17 section. 

18 SEC. 9. STANDARD OF PROOF RELATING TO POSSIBLY IN19 NOCENT OWNERS. 

20 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—Paragraph (3) of section 

21 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(3) if the Government’s theory of forfeiture is 

24 that the property was used to commit or facilitate the 

25 commission of a criminal offense, or was involved in 


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1 the commission of a criminal offense, the Government 

2 shall establish by clear and convincing evidence 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(A) there was a substantial connection be5 tween the property and the offense; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the owner of any interest in the seized 

7 property— 

8 ‘‘(i) intentionally used the property in 

9 connection with the offense; 

10 ‘‘(ii) knowingly consented to the use of 

11 the property by another in connection with 

12 the offense; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) knew that the property was being 

14 used in connection with the offense.’’. 

15 (b) INNOCENT OWNER DEFENSE.— 

16 (1) SECTION 983(d)(1).—Paragraph (1) of section 

17 983(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) An innocent owner’s interest in property 

20 shall not be forfeited under any civil forfeiture stat21 ute. The Government shall have the burden of proving 

22 that the claimant is not an innocent owner by clear 

23 and convincing evidence.’’. 

24 (2) SECTION 983(d)(2)(A)(i).—Paragraph (2)(A)(i) 

25 of section 983(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by inserting ‘‘or consent to’’ after ‘‘did not 

2 know of’’. 

3 SEC. 10. PROPORTIONALITY. 

4 Section 983(g) of title 18, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or otherwise 

7 disproportional to the gravity of the offense’’ before 

8 the period at the end; and 

9 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(2) In making this determination, the court 

12 shall consider, in addition to the analysis as to 

13 whether the forfeiture is constitutionally excessive, the 

14 value of the property, the seriousness of the offense, 

15 the level of the claimant’s culpability in the offense 

16 giving rise to forfeiture, the claimant’s prior record, 

17 the claimant’s financial condition, and whether the 

18 forfeiture statute is intended to address the type of 

19 conduct alleged as the basis for forfeiture.’’. 

20 SEC. 11. SEARCH AND FORFEITURE OF MONETARY INSTRU21 MENTS. 

22 Section 5317(c) of title 31, United States Code, is 

23 amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any property involved 

2 in a violation of section 5313 or 5316, or any 

3 conspiracy to commit any such violation, and 

4 any property traceable to any such violation or 

5 conspiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 

6 United States in accordance with the procedures 

7 governing civil forfeitures in money laundering 

8 cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 

9 18. 

10 ‘‘(B) STRUCTURING.—Any property in11 volved in a violation of section 5324, or any con12 spiracy to commit any such violation, and any 

13 property traceable to any such violation or con14 spiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 

15 United States in accordance with the procedures 

16 governing civil forfeitures in money laundering 

17 cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 18 

18 only if the property to be seized and forfeited is 

19 derived from an illegal source or if the struc20 turing offense was used to conceal violations of 

21 other criminal laws.’’. 

22 SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. 

23 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

24 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

25 apply only with respect to seizures made on or after that 


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1 date. Seizures made before that date shall continue to be 

2 governed by the law as it existed without regard to this Act 

3 or the amendments made by this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 702 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5283 

[Report No. 114–892, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform 

poses. certain forfeiture procedures, and for other purDECEMBER 23, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

DECEMBER 23, 2016 

The Committees on Financial Services and Energy and 

dered to be printed the Whole House on the State of the Union and orCommerce discharged; committed to the Committee of 


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