POSITIVE Justice & Civil Liberties 119th Congress

H.R.5350 FAIR Act (Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform)

FAIR Act — reforms civil asset forfeiture so police can't seize property from people who haven't been convicted of a crime (119th Congress)

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Legal & Constitutional Grounding

5th Amendment requires due process; IJ found 80%+ of civil forfeitures never led to criminal charges.

U.S. Const. amend. V — no person shall be deprived of property without due process of law

18 U.S.C. § 981 — current civil forfeiture authority
IJ (2020): law enforcement seized $68.8 billion through forfeiture 2000-2019; 80%+ of forfeitures never led to criminal charges

Who Lobbied on This Bill

$6.5M combined quarterly activity

1 lobbying firm

1 client represented

2025-fourth_quarter–2026-second_quarter filing period

⚠ 6 lobbyists who worked this bill previously held government positions

Show all 6

ELIZABETH FARRAR — Staff Dir, Dep Staff Dir-Sen Rules Cmte; Dep CoS, Leg Dir-Sen Klobuchar; Chief Counsel, Counsel-Sen Jud Cmte…
ELLI SCHANK — Senator Joe Donnelly, Intern
HEATHER SAGER — Rep. Cheri Bustos - Deputy Chief of Staff
JUSTICE ESTRADA — Senator Charles Schumer, Intern; Senator Dianne Feinstein, Legislative Correspondent
STEPHEN COFFEY — Rep. Gene Green, Legal Intern; Rep. Matt Cartwright, Deputy Chief of Staff and House Appropriations Committee…
THEODORE NASTASE — Senate Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Planning, Senator Gary Peters, Intern

Policy Areas Covered

Consumer Issues/Safety/Products

Government Entities Lobbied

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SENATE

Who Hired the Lobbyists

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE

Source: Senate LDA filings · Dollar figures are combined quarterly totals for all lobbying by each firm, not bill-specific spend.

FAIR Act — civil asset forfeiture reform. Civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to seize property without a conviction, with documented due process violations disproportionately affecting low-income communities.