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 Ari-
zona, 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) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services and En-
ergy 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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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DUE PROCESS Act 
of 2016’’ or the ‘‘Deterring Undue Enforcement by Pro-
tecting Rights of Citizens from Excessive Searches and Sei-
zures Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. GENERAL RULES FOR CIVIL FORFEITURE PRO-
CEEDINGS. 
Section 983(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘COM-
PLAINT’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPLAINT; INITIAL HEAR-
ING’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘60 days’’ 
and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 
(ii) by striking clause (ii); 
(iii) in clause (iii)— 
(I) in the matter preceding sub-
clause (I)— 
(aa) by striking ‘‘60-day’’ 
and inserting ‘‘30-day’’; and 
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(bb) by striking ‘‘does not 
file’’ and all that follows through 
‘‘obtain’’ and inserting ‘‘obtains’’; 
and 
(II) in subclause (I), by striking 
‘‘60 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 
(iv) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘90 
days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’; 
(v) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘60 days’’ 
and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; and 
(vi) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(vi) The notice under this subparagraph shall 
include an address, which shall also be widely pub-
lished, at which the seizing agency can receive until 
5 p.m. on any business day an interested party’s 
claim contesting a seizure or forfeiture. The interested 
party may send such a claim to that address by cou-
rier or overnight mail. For the purpose of deter-
mining compliance with any deadlines in filing such 
a claim, an interested party completes the filing by 
placing the communication making the claim in the 
control of an independent third party delivery service 
such as a courier company or the United States mail. 
In determining whether any legal deadline for the fil-
ing of such a claim has been met a court shall allow 
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for the equitable tolling of the deadline in appropriate 
cases. 
‘‘(vii) The seizing agency shall make publicly 
available for each nonjudicial forfeiture, with respect 
to which a request for mitigation or remission is 
made, a statement of the agency’s disposition of that 
request, redacted if necessary, including the reasons 
for the decision.’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (C)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘60’’ and inserting 
‘‘30’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘which period may’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘as necessary,’’; 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(G) Any notice described in subparagraph (A) 
that is provided to a party shall include notice of— 
‘‘(i) the right of the party to request an ini-
tial hearing in accordance with paragraph (5); 
‘‘(ii) the right of the party to be represented 
by counsel at the initial hearing described in 
clause (i) and any civil forfeiture proceeding 
under a civil forfeiture statute; and 
‘‘(iii) the right of the party to request that 
the party be represented by counsel at the initial 
hearing described in clause (i) and any civil for-
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feiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute 
if the party meets the requirements described in 
subsection (b).’’; and 
(D) by striking ‘‘nonjudicial’’ each place it 
appears; 
(3) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘non-
judicial’’; 
(4) in paragraph (2)(B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘35 days’’ and inserting 
‘‘65 days’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and inserting 
‘‘60 days’’; 
(5) so that subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) 
reads as follows: 
‘‘(A) Not later than 90 days after a claim has 
been filed, the Government shall file a complaint for 
forfeiture in the manner set forth in the Supplemental 
Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims or 
return the property pending the filing of a complaint, 
except that a court in the district in which the com-
plaint has been filed may extend the period for filing 
a complaint upon agreement of the parties.’’; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5)(A) A party claiming property seized in a 
civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 
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statute may request, not later than 30 days after the 
date on which a notice described in paragraph (1)(A) 
is received or if notice is not received, not later than 
30 days after the date of final publication of notice 
of seizure, an initial hearing to take place before a 
magistrate judge in the appropriate United States 
district court not later than the date on which a civil 
forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute 
relating to the seized property commences. 
‘‘(B) If a party makes a request under subpara-
graph (A), a magistrate judge shall conduct an initial 
hearing not later than 10 days after the date on 
which the request is made. 
‘‘(C) At the initial hearing— 
‘‘(i) the magistrate judge shall— 
‘‘(I) inform the party in easily under-
stood terms of— 
‘‘(aa) the right of the party to be 
represented by counsel at the initial 
hearing and any civil forfeiture pro-
ceeding under a civil forfeiture statute; 
‘‘(bb) the right of the party to re-
quest that the party be represented by 
counsel at the initial hearing and any 
civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil 
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‘‘(D) The magistrate judge shall enter an order 
for the immediate release of the seized property with 
prejudice to the right of the Government to commence 
a civil forfeiture proceeding at a later time if the 
magistrate judge finds that— 
‘‘(i) the requirements described in subpara-
graphs (A) through (E) of subsection (f)(1) are 
met; and 
‘‘(ii) the Government did not meet the bur-
den of proof described in subparagraph (C)(ii).’’. 
SEC. 3. REPRESENTATION. 
Section 983(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial’’; 
and 
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial 
civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 
statute is financially unable to obtain representation 
by counsel, and the property subject to forfeiture is 
real property that is being used by the person as a 
primary residence’’ and inserting ‘‘civil forfeiture 
proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute is finan-
cially unable to obtain representation by counsel’’. 
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SEC. 4. BURDEN OF PROOF. 
Section 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a preponder-
ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con-
vincing evidence’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘a preponder-
ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con-
vincing evidence’’. 
SEC. 5. RIGHT TO REQUEST HEARING ON PRETRIAL RE-
STRAINT OF PROPERTY TO RETAIN COUNSEL 
OF CHOICE. 
(a) TITLE 18.—Section 1963(d) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 
court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 
the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 
any other action to preserve the availability of property de-
scribed in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this section— 
‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or informa-
tion charging a violation of section 1962 and alleging 
that the property with respect to which the order is 
sought would, in the event of conviction, be subject to 
forfeiture under this section; or 
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‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 
information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 
have an interest in the property and opportunity for 
a hearing, the court determines that— 
‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 
the United States will prevail on the issue of for-
feiture and that failure to enter the order will re-
sult in the property being destroyed, removed 
from the jurisdiction of the court, or otherwise 
made unavailable for forfeiture; and 
‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability of 
the property through the entry of the requested 
order outweighs the hardship on any party 
against whom the order is to be entered. 
‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 
violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 
ordered under this section and against whom the order is 
entered, supported by an affidavit, the court shall hold a 
hearing to determine whether to modify or rescind, in whole 
or in part, an order entered under subparagraph (A) to 
allow the defendant to use the property subject to the order 
to retain counsel of choice. 
‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 
‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de-
fendant with respect to the violation of section 1962 
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for which criminal forfeiture is ordered under this 
section; 
‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 
whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 
under this section; 
‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de-
fendant; and 
‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 
‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 
(A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, unless— 
‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause shown; 
or 
‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 
subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de-
fendant committed a violation of section 1962 for 
which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under this 
section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘believe’’. 
(b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—Section 413(e) 
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853(e)) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 
court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 
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the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 
any other action to preserve the availability of property de-
scribed in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this section— 
‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or informa-
tion charging a violation of this title or title III for 
which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under this 
section and alleging that the property with respect to 
which the order is sought would, in the event of con-
viction, be subject to forfeiture under this section; or 
‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 
information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 
have an interest in the property and opportunity for 
a hearing, the court determines that— 
‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 
the United States will prevail on the issue of for-
feiture and that failure to enter the order will re-
sult in the property being destroyed, removed 
from the jurisdiction of the court, or otherwise 
made unavailable for forfeiture; and 
‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability of 
the property through the entry of the requested 
order outweighs the hardship on any party 
against whom the order is to be entered. 
‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 
violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 
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ordered under this section and against whom the order is 
entered, supported by an affidavit sufficient to demonstrate 
a genuine need for the defendant to use the property subject 
to an order entered under subparagraph (A) to retain coun-
sel of choice, the court shall hold a hearing to determine 
whether to modify or rescind, in whole or in part, the order 
to allow the defendant to use the property to retain counsel 
of choice. 
‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 
‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de-
fendant with respect to the violation of this title or 
title III for which criminal forfeiture is be ordered 
under this section; 
‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 
whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 
under this section; 
‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de-
fendant; and 
‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 
‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 
(A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, unless— 
‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause shown; 
or 
‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 
subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 
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(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de-
fendant committed a violation of this title or title III 
for which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under 
this section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘be-
lieve’’. 
SEC. 6. RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS FEES. 
Section 2465(b) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘substan-
tially’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) If the claim is resolved by a settlement in which 
the claimant prevails, the claimant is entitled to attorneys 
fees under this subsection to the same extent that the claim-
ant would be if a judgment were issued in the proceeding 
for the property recovered under the settlement. The pay-
ment of attorneys fees under this subsection may not be 
waived as a part of any settlement with the claimant. That 
payment is not subject to any offset or deduction by the 
United States in connection with any claim the United 
States may have against the claimant. 
‘‘(4) For the purposes of this subsection, a claimant 
prevails if the claimant recovers more than 50 percent, by 
value, of the money or other property that is claimed.’’. 
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SEC. 7. ANNUAL AUDIT OF CIVIL FORFEITURES. 
The Inspector General shall annually conduct an audit 
of a representative sample of Federal civil forfeitures under 
statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, United States 
Code, to ensure those forfeitures are constitutionally sound 
and consistent with the letter and spirit of the law. The 
Department of Justice Inspector General shall report the 
results of the audit to the Attorney General and to Congress. 
Such report shall also include the fiscal status of the Asset 
Forfeiture Fund and Treasury Forfeiture Fund, including 
any projected growth or shrinking of the Funds in future 
years, and the viability of the Funds. 
SEC. 8. PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASES. 
(a) QUARTERLY UPDATED DATABASE ON DETAILS OF 
FORFEITURES.—The Attorney General shall establish and 
maintain, with updates on a quarterly basis, a publicly 
available database that describes with respect to seizures for 
all Federal civil forfeiture containing the following: 
(1) For each such seizure: 
(A) Unit of an agency responsible for the 
seizure, and the location, including at a min-
imum the State, city, and judicial district where 
and date when the seizure took place. 
(B) The type of initial seizure (such as dur-
ing a stop based on probable cause, or pursuant 
to a Federal warrant). 
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(C) The nature and value of the seized 
property. 
(D) In what manner forfeiture of seized 
property was conducted (whether by a civil or 
administrative proceeding, through settlement, or 
otherwise). 
(E) Whether a forfeiture of the seized prop-
erty was of the entire property, or only a part, 
and if partial, the proportion of the whole that 
was forfeited. 
(F) The disposition of the seized property, 
the date of forfeiture, if any, and the date the 
disposition took place. 
(G) What type of criminal activity any for-
feited property relates to. 
(H) Whether any forfeited money was re-
turned to the victim of a crime in connection 
with which the forfeiture occurred, and the 
amount returned. 
(I) The status of any concurrent or related 
criminal proceeding against the owner of the 
property, any pending case under title 11 in 
which the owner of record of the property is the 
debtor, and any pending civil case in which a 
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receiver has been ordered to take control of the 
property. 
(J) Whether the forfeiture was contested. 
(K) Whether the innocent owner made a 
claim on the property. 
(L) The total expenses associated with the 
forfeiture. 
(M) The total net proceeds of the forfeiture. 
(N) Demographic information on the person 
or persons subject to the seizure. 
(2) A statistical breakdown for each agency of 
the cases of remission and mitigation, including— 
(A) the numbers of requests for remission 
and mitigation that were— 
(i) fully granted; 
(ii) partially granted; or 
(iii) returned; and 
(B) with respect to requests that were par-
tially granted— 
(i) the average percentage of the value 
of seized property that was returned to the 
owner; and 
(ii) what percentage of requests re-
sulted in returned property in each of the 
following categories: 
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(I) More than zero but less than 
25 percent of the property was re-
turned. 
(II) 25 percent or more of the 
property was returned, but less than 
50 percent. 
(III) 50 percent or more of the 
property was returned, but less than 
75 percent. 
(IV) 75 percent or more of the 
property was returned, but less than 
100 percent. 
(3) Any money given from the Asset Forfeiture 
Fund or Treasury Forfeiture Fund to State or local 
law enforcement for Joint Law Enforcement Oper-
ations (commonly referred to as ‘‘JLEO’’) funding, or 
for any other purpose, and the name of the State or 
local entity receiving that funding. 
(b) REAL-TIME
DATABASE
TO
ASSIST
PERSONS 
WHOSE PROPERTY IS SEIZED.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General 
shall establish and maintain, with updates on a real- 
time basis, a database, organized by State and coun-
ty, with respect to each Federal seizure of real and 
personal property for Federal civil forfeiture under 
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statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, United 
States Code. 
(2) DESIGN.—The Attorney General shall design 
the database to allow any interested party, including 
any owner, creditor, or lienholder, to determine 
whether that party has an interest in any such prop-
erty and to inform that party, and the general public, 
on the specifics of how to contest each seizure before 
the forfeiture. 
(c) HEADS OF AGENCIES TO SUBMIT INFORMATION 
FOR DATABASES.—Not less frequently than quarterly, on 
a schedule determined by the Attorney General, the head 
of each Federal agency shall submit to the Attorney General 
a report that provides, in such form as the Attorney General 
may prescribe, the information the Attorney General is re-
quired to include in the databases established under this 
section. 
SEC. 9. STANDARD OF PROOF RELATING TO POSSIBLY IN-
NOCENT OWNERS. 
(a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—Paragraph (3) of section 
983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(3) if the Government’s theory of forfeiture is 
that the property was used to commit or facilitate the 
commission of a criminal offense, or was involved in 
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the commission of a criminal offense, the Government 
shall establish by clear and convincing evidence 
that— 
‘‘(A) there was a substantial connection be-
tween the property and the offense; and 
‘‘(B) the owner of any interest in the seized 
property— 
‘‘(i) intentionally used the property in 
connection with the offense; 
‘‘(ii) knowingly consented to the use of 
the property by another in connection with 
the offense; or 
‘‘(iii) knew that the property was being 
used in connection with the offense.’’. 
(b) INNOCENT OWNER DEFENSE.— 
(1) SECTION 983(d)(1).—Paragraph (1) of section 
983(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(1) An innocent owner’s interest in property 
shall not be forfeited under any civil forfeiture stat-
ute. The Government shall have the burden of proving 
that the claimant is not an innocent owner by clear 
and convincing evidence.’’. 
(2) SECTION 983(d)(2)(A)(i).—Paragraph (2)(A)(i) 
of section 983(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 
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amended by inserting ‘‘or consent to’’ after ‘‘did not 
know of’’. 
SEC. 10. PROPORTIONALITY. 
Section 983(g) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or otherwise 
disproportional to the gravity of the offense’’ before 
the period at the end; and 
(2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(2) In making this determination, the court 
shall consider, in addition to the analysis as to 
whether the forfeiture is constitutionally excessive, the 
value of the property, the seriousness of the offense, 
the level of the claimant’s culpability in the offense 
giving rise to forfeiture, the claimant’s prior record, 
the claimant’s financial condition, and whether the 
forfeiture statute is intended to address the type of 
conduct alleged as the basis for forfeiture.’’. 
SEC. 11. SEARCH AND FORFEITURE OF MONETARY INSTRU-
MENTS. 
Section 5317(c) of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any property involved 
in a violation of section 5313 or 5316, or any 
conspiracy to commit any such violation, and 
any property traceable to any such violation or 
conspiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 
United States in accordance with the procedures 
governing civil forfeitures in money laundering 
cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 
18. 
‘‘(B) STRUCTURING.—Any property in-
volved in a violation of section 5324, or any con-
spiracy to commit any such violation, and any 
property traceable to any such violation or con-
spiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 
United States in accordance with the procedures 
governing civil forfeitures in money laundering 
cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 18 
only if the property to be seized and forfeited is 
derived from an illegal source or if the struc-
turing offense was used to conceal violations of 
other criminal laws.’’. 
SEC. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and 
apply only with respect to seizures made on or after that 
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date. Seizures made before that date shall continue to be 
governed by the law as it existed without regard to this Act 
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 
certain forfeiture procedures, and for other pur-
poses. 
DECEMBER 23, 2016 
Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 
amendment 
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 or-
dered to be printed 
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