[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 86 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H5104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FIFTH AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I thought I would read part of the United 
States Constitution. Maybe the folks down the street at the Supreme 
Court will hear part of it.
  No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due 
process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use 
without just compensation. This is the fifth amendment of the 
Constitution, Mr. Speaker.
  This simple amendment does not permit government to take our homes 
and give it to some private entity, some private developer to build a 
parking lot. But yet the Supreme Court yesterday misinterpreted this 
simple provision in our Constitution; and now a private corporation, 
with the aid of government, can take our homes without our consent and 
build some shopping mall.
  This amendment was to protect our homes from others who want to take 
our land. The purpose of this amendment was for public use, like a 
school. The Supreme Court once again has got it wrong and allows this 
modern-day land grabbing by government for big developers without our 
consent. The Supreme Court, once again, has lost its way.

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