[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7265-S7266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. McCASKILL: 
  S. 1414. A bill to confer upon the United States Court of Federal 
Claims jurisdiction to hear, determine, and render final judgment on 
any legal or equitable claim against the United States to receive just 
compensation for the taking of certain lands in the State of Missouri, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, today I am here to talk about a simple 
bill that would correct a serious injustice.
  In 1992, land belonging to over 100 south St. Louis County homeowners 
was converted into a recreational trail under the National Trails 
System Act, which allows rights-of-way abandoned by railroads to be 
made into trails. I have nothing against the National Trails System 
Act. It is a good program; it improves communities and preserves 
rights-of-way. In 1990, the Supreme Court upheld the program as a 
rightful use of eminent domain, but made it absolutely clear that, in 
accordance with the Fifth Amendment, property owners must be justly 
compensated for their losses. Only this did not happen in the case of 
my constituents back in Missouri. These homeowners--modest, hardworking 
people--were never compensated for the loss of their land.
  These Missouri homeowners did everything right. First, in December 
1998, they filed their claim. Federal Judge Bruggink ruled the claim to 
be filed in timely manner, and the Department of Justice later agreed. 
Then, on two separate occasions, Judge Bruggink ruled that the federal 
government was liable for taking the Missouri homeowners' land. After 6 
years of litigation, the Department of Justice finally agreed on the 
amount of just compensation owed to each homeowner. On December 17, 
2004, Judge Bruggink found the settlement to be fair and prepared to 
enter a final order. However, just days before Judge Bruggink was to 
issue the final order, a separate court--considering an unrelated 
case--changed the rule on how to calculate the 6-year

[[Page S7266]]

statute of limitations in which property owners have to file a claim 
for compensation.
  This new rule determined that the clock on the statute of limitations 
starts to run at the time negotiations for a possible trail begin, 
instead of when a trail is actually established. Frankly, this is a 
little ridiculous because the negotiations are between the railroad 
company and the trail operator, not the actual property owners who must 
file the claim. Frequently property owners are not even notified of the 
negotiations until a trail is established! In the Missouri homeowners' 
case, negotiations began in March 1992, 6 years and 9 months before 
they filed their claim. Under the new rule, they filed their claim 9 
months too late. As a result, the Court of Claims no longer had 
jurisdiction to approve the settlement and Judge Bruggink was forced to 
dismiss the case. To this day the government is still using these 
citizens' land for a recreational trail, the Grant's Trail, but the 
citizens have never been extended their constitutional right to just 
compensation.
  Today, along with my distinguished colleague from Missouri, Senator 
Bond, I am introducing legislation to correct this injustice. The Fair 
Compensation Act of 2009 would simply confer jurisdiction upon the U.S. 
Court of Federal Claims to hear the Missouri homeowners' claim. We are 
doing this for people like Gale and Sarah Illig, a retired couple who 
had a 50-foot wide strip of land taken from their yard. Then there is 
Betty Mea Steinhans, who lived in her home for 51 years. The 
recreational trail took out a sizable chunk of Betty's prized garden. A 
government appraiser and the DOJ determined that the Federal Government 
owed Betty $31,000. That is almost 25 percent of the value of her home! 
These Missourians, and dozens like them, have worked hard to purchase 
their homes, and they will likely rely on their home's value to provide 
for them into retirement. They deserve their day in court.
  Let me make this clear: our legislation does not award a monetary 
amount to Missouri landowners. While I certainly think the homeowners 
are entitled to just compensation, that is not Congress' decision. It 
is the Court of Federal Claim's job to make that decision. This 
legislation would only allow the Court the opportunity to hear this 
case on its merits and would not require any additional appropriations 
from Congress.
  Congress has the authority to enact special jurisdiction legislation; 
we have exercised it multiple times and the Supreme Court has upheld 
this right. In the late 1800s, Congress used it to give the Court of 
Federal Claims jurisdiction to hear the case of a businessman who had 
several hundred bales of cotton captured by General Sherman during the 
Civil War. More recently, Congress used it to give the Court 
jurisdiction to hear the case of the Pueblo of Isleta Indian Tribe, who 
had a sizable portion of their land taken by the Federal Government.
  I want to thank Senator Whitehouse and his staff for working with us 
to draft this legislation. I will continue to work with the Judiciary 
Committee on this issue, and I urge them to give this important 
legislation the consideration it deserves. I am confident that Congress 
will do what is right, and allow these hardworking Missouri homeowners 
their day in court.
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