The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7392 on Sept. 10, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) for 5 minutes.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, although criminal forfeiture laws have been an important tool and a useful tool for law enforcement, civil asset forfeiture has been used too many times to seize, forfeit, and indeed profit off the property of Americans without even charging them with crimes--innocent until proven guilty.
The activity can be a boon for police budgets, as the Federal asset forfeiture fund exceeded $2 billion in 2013 and equitable sharing agreements between the Department of Justice and local police departments accounted for over $600 million.
While policing certainly is a vital element of an effective society, let's also be mindful of the fact that our Constitution emphasizes individual rights above all. For this reason, I introduced H.R. 5212, the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, to limit the scope, the power, and the reach of the government to abuse their forfeiture powers in violation of individual rights guaranteed to us by our Constitution.
I urge all my colleagues to support this needed reform effort and to again assure our citizens of their civil liberties and the opportunity to defend innocence or prove guilt.
____________________
