FREEDOMWORKS 06/09/2015

1. Civil Asset Forfeiture: Grading the States - by Michael Greibrook Civil asset forfeiture is a unique area of law in which the government charges specific property of being guilty of wrongdoing, rather than a person. Perhaps because the property is accused of wrongdoing, and not the person, governments often place lower standards of proof needed to forfeit the property. The procedures used by the federal government and many state governments creates grave Fourth and Fifth Amendment concerns. Since 2008, the federal government has regularly brought in over $1 billion a year in forfeiture proceeds. Although most states lack reporting requirements that would allow us to track forfeiture proceeds, those that do report reveal that states regularly bring in millions of dollars each year. Read more here... 2. Regardless of Court's Decision, ObamaCare is Falling Apart - by Logan Albright In 2013, Jeb Bush made a comment critical of Republican efforts to defund ObamaCare, saying that we should instead let the law fall apart on its own. It was kind of an insensitive approach, given the number of lives that depend on a health care system that actually works, and I believe he was tactically misguided, but he was right about one thing: ObamaCare is falling apart, slowly but surely. We are only a couple of weeks out from the King v. Burwell decision that many are saying could deal a staggering blow to ObamaCare, by putting an end to illegal subsidies currently propping the law up. Supporters of the law are, therefore, hoping for a ruling to preserve the subsidies, with the administration actively not planning for any other outcome. Read more here... Get $100 off with promo code FWFF15! 3. Empower Flint: CL Bryant Chats with Pastor Jeffery Hawkins - by Anthony Kang 4. Walker's Budget Makes Important Education Reforms - by Logan Albright As Scott Walker tours the country on his campaign for the presidency, he has not forsaken his state, turning in a budget that would make important reforms in education policy. It’s beyond the scope of this piece to analyze the budget in full - it contains rather more spending and borrowing than most conservatives would like - but in the area of education reform it takes some pretty important steps forward. Most importantly, the budget would prohibit the State Superintendent, a vocal proponent of Common Core, from advertising or promoting the standards to local school districts. This is important because, while school districts in Wisconsin are permitted to opt out of the standards, few have done so as a result from pressure from the Department of Public Instruction. Walker’s budget would relieve that pressure, and allow schools to determine their own destiny. Last July, Walker came out strong against the standards, saying “Today, I call on the members of the state legislature to pass a bill in early January to repeal Common Core and replace it with standards set by people in Wisconsin.” Read more here... 5. Capitol Hill Update, 8 June, 2015 - by Josh Withrow House & Senate/Schedule: The House and Senate both remain in session. Both will recess next for the 4th of July week (29 June-3 July). Senate/Defense: The Senate will spend the rest of this week considering their modifications to the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 1735. This legislation would authorize a total of $620.1 billion in spending on national defense. That number includes $96 billion on Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding, which is categorized as emergency funding (and thus not counted towards budget caps) because it is supposed to be for direct support of wartime activities overseas. Instead, Congress is using OCO to hide over $38 billion in normal DoD operational funding from the budget caps established in 2011, essentially turning OCO into a defense slush fund. Read more here... 6. Here's why Congress must get big government out of the courtroom - by Jason Pye Mark Weller and his court-appointed attorney, Brad Hansen, pleaded for leniency from U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett, who was at the center of a Washington Post story over the weekend on federal sentencing laws. Unfortunately, even though Weller had a story and family history that urged sentencing restraint, Judge Bennett's sentence was mandated by big government in Washington. "Growing up, all he pretty much had was an alcoholic mother who was manic depressive and schizophrenic. When I wasn’t cutting myself, I was getting drunk and beating the hell out of him in the middle of the night. When I wasn’t doing all that I was trying to kill myself and ending up in a mental hospital," his mother wrote in a letter to Judge Bennett. "Can you imagine being a four-year-old and getting beat up one day and having to go visit that same person in a mental hospital the next? No heat in the house, no lights, nothing. That was his starting point."  Read more here...  Make freedom work, Iris Somberg Press Secretary, FreedomWorks