Last update: Feb. 7, 2000
by FEAR Board member Bob Bauman
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LAST CHANCE FOR FORFEITURE REFORM!!!!!!!!
E-MAIL ALERT - ACT NOW - SENATE COMMITTEE
TO VOTE NEXT THURSDAY - FEB. 10th
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The US Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on forfeiture reform bills this Thursday, Feb. 10. This may be the last chance for forfeiture reform for years to come!

FEAR urges SUPPORT for S. 1931, the Hatch/Leahy bill and  OPPOSITION to the sell-out S. 1701, Sessions/Schumer Dept. of Justice bill.

Please, NOW,  send an e-mail to Judiciary Committee members (List and addresses below) and ask that they vote FOR S. 1391 and AGAINST any  weakening amendments.  This is especially important if a Senator from your state is a member of the Judiciary Committee. (See list below).

Senators Orrin Hatch (R. Utah)  and Patrick Leahy (D. Vermont) are sponsoring S. 1931,  which is far better than S. 1701 -- the Sessions/Schumer/DOJ forfeiture expansion bill, which FEAR strenuously opposes.

We know S. 1391 falls short of the needed reforms of  H.R. 1658, the Hyde/Conyers Civil Asset Reform Act -- FEAR's forfeiture bill -- which passed overwhelmingly (375 to 48) in the House of Representatives in June, 1999. We've fought for 7 years to get a good reform bill passed, and the best way to
achieve that is to pass the Hatch bill in the Senate, then work for a Senate-House conference that will produce an end result closer to the Hyde bill.

S. 1701, the DOJ bill, must be killed in the Judiciary Committee this week. The Sessions/Shumer bill  S. 1701, is a horrible expansion of police forfeiture powers far worse than present law. (Co-sponsors of  S. 1701 on the Judiciary Committee are marked with an  asterisk.* )

Please phone and/or e-mail Senate Judiciary Committee members NOW. If you need your Senator's phone number go to:   http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm


Ask them to oppose S. 1701  If your Senator is on the Judiciary Committee (see list below) contact him or her NOW, to stop this police forfeiture power grab from passing out of the Judiciary Committee.  We've worked hard to get forfeiture reform and THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!

E-MAIL OR TELEPHONE NOW! TODAY!
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US Senate Judiciary Committee

(Republicans)
Utah - Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman  mailto:senator_hatch@hatch.senate.gov
South Carolina - Strom Thurmond *  mailto:senator@thurmond.senate.gov
Iowa - Charles E. Grassley  http://grassley.senate.gov/webform.htm
Pennsylvania - Arlen Specter  mailto:senator_specter@specter.senate.gov
Arizona - Jon Kyl  mailto:info@kyl.senate.gov
Ohio - Mike DeWine  http://www.senate.gov/~dewine/request_form.html
Missouri - John Ashcroft   mailto:john_ashcroft@ashcroft.senate.gov
Michigan - Spencer Abraham  michigan@abraham.senate.gov
Alabama - Jeff Sessions *  mailto:senator@sessions.senate.gov
New Hampshire - Bob Smith  http://www.senate.gov/~smith/

(Democrats)
Vermont - Patrick J. Leahy  mailto:senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Massachusetts - Edward M. Kennedy  mailto:senator@kennedy.senate.gov
Delaware - Joseph R. Biden, Jr. * senator@biden.senate.gov
Wisconsin - Herb Kohl  mailto:senator_kohl@kohl.senate.gov
California - Dianne Feinstein *  mailto:senator@feinstein.senate.gov
Wisconsin - Russell D. Feingold  mailto:russell_feingold@feingold.senate.gov
New Jersey - Robert G. Torricelli  mailto:senator_torricelli@torricelli.senate.gov
New York - Charles E. Schumer *  mailto:senator@schumer.senate.gov