Restraining Excessive Seizure of Property Through the Exploitation of Civil Asset Forfeiture Tools Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5523.

In this day and age, the awesome power of the federal government can be difficult to fully appreciate for many citizens. Yet, when that power is used unwisely or unjustly, the consequences can be disastrous for innocent Americans.

My friend and constituent, Mr. Andrew Clyde--for whom this legislation is named--experienced the full might of the federal government in the form of civil asset forfeiture.

Four years ago, the Internal Revenue Service accused Mr. Clyde of structuring his bank deposits in such a way to avoid the $10,000 threshold reporting requirement of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1986--a law aimed at uncovering illegal drug transactions. Then, with no due process and no evidence, the IRS seized nearly a million dollars from Mr. Clyde.

Mr. Clyde is about as far from a drug dealer as you can get: He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy who served three combat tours in Iraq, a successful small business owner, and an upstanding citizen in our community.
None of that mattered to the IRS--who employed their powers of civil asset forfeiture to hold Mr. Clyde's money hostage, force him to spend $100,000 in legal fees, and ultimately surrender $50,000 just to make the whole outrageous ordeal come to a close.

This flies in the face of due process--one of our Republic's most fundamental liberties.
The IRS has seized tens of millions of dollars from Americans in cases just like this where no criminal activity was even alleged, much less proven in a court of law.

Andrew Clyde and the other men for whom this bill is named--Randy Sowers and brothers Jeffrey, Richard, and Mitch Hirsch--have dedicated themselves to ensuring this injustice will not continue to befall innocent Americans.

H.R. 5523 would limit the IRS's authority to conduct civil asset forfeiture under the Bank Secrecy Act unless the property actually originated from illegal activity or was purposely structured to conceal illegal activity.
I commend the work of the House Ways & Means Committee on this important issue, and I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

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