[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 87 (Monday, June 27, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H5218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the fifth amendment to the 
Constitution states that ``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.''
  However, that was then.
  Thanks to the recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain, the 
fifth amendment has been vastly expanded.
  As one Supreme Court Justice stated in the dissent, ``Nothing is to 
prevent the State from replacing a Motel 6 with a Ritz Carlton, any 
home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.''
  Property rights? There is nothing right about this decision. Now, tax 
revenues are more important than neighborhoods.
  Mr. Speaker, with this decision, the rights of our citizens are now 
competing with tax revenue and private developments. The Constitution 
is meant to protect the rights of our citizens, not compete with the 
bottom line.
  What is clear at this moment is that the Supreme Court has thrown the 
protection of individual property rights right out the window. These 
Justices need to be reined back in by both State action and loud 
condemnation of this outrageous finding.
  Public use has been redefined so boldly by this Supreme Court 
decision that it's no wonder citizens are concerned about their homes 
and property.
  In the short term, all states are encouraged to adopt strict and 
narrow definitions of ``public use.''
  In the long term, we in Congress must determine whether more clarity 
needs to be brought to the court on this matter.
  Remember Jefferson's principle: ``The true foundation of republican 
government is the equal right of every citizen in his person and 
property and in their management.''--Thomas Jefferson to Samuel 
Kercheval, 1816.

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