[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 8, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H4872-H4873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           KELO V. NEW LONDON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Reed) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to highlight an issue that 
I believe we must pay closer attention to in this Chamber and in this 
Congress. You see, on June 23, Mr. Speaker, we marked the tenth 
anniversary of an important Supreme Court case. That case was Kelo v. 
New London.
  Now, the title of the case really means nothing. But I point to 
Susette Kelo, who I have here depicted in this picture. She was the 
plaintiff in that case. And what happened in that case was this, Mr. 
Speaker, a real tragedy:
  She was told by her government that they were going to take her home 
and give it to another private owner for development. You heard me 
right, Mr. Speaker. She was told that her home was going to be taken by 
our government because they were picking the winners and losers because 
they felt they knew best how to utilize her property and give it to 
another private owner to develop it the way that private owner wanted 
to do.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, Susette Kelo stood up. She fought this fight. She 
was told by her friends, she was told by her real estate agents, she 
was told by her lawyers: Just roll over. The government always wins, 
and they are going to win this battle.
  But she fought it all the way to the Supreme Court. And what 
happened, however, is that that advice from her friends and from her 
real estate agent and her lawyers came true. The government won.
  But that day we all lost, as American citizens. Because here is what 
happened after that case. She lost her home. And this is a picture of 
her property--well, no longer her property--but that property, as it 
exists today. They demolished her home. They took her property. She 
lost her piece of the American Dream. And the result of it is a vacant 
lot that sits in New London.
  Mr. Speaker, I highlight this case today because it reminds us of an 
issue that we must fight for, and that is a fundamental freedom that we 
all enjoy as American citizens, to own and to use our property.
  It is something that is fundamental to our U.S. Constitution. It is 
something fundamental to us as American citizens. And it is time for us 
to unite, as Republicans and Democrats, and say enough is enough. We 
must push back on Big Government. We must stand with individuals.
  This land belongs to them, not our government. And that is something 
that I am afraid that started 10 years ago and continues to this day 
with actions of Big Government day in and day out, where government 
regulations, government overreach--local, Federal, State level--act in 
a way that takes away these fundamental property rights that so many 
have fought for.
  So in Congress I have led the fight. I formed the Private Property 
Rights Caucus, with Members from Maine to Alabama to California. I have 
sponsored and authored the Defense of Property Rights Act to say enough 
is enough. We are going to stand with individuals, and we are going to 
fight this Big Government overreach.
  Mr. Speaker, these hard-fought rights have come at the expense of so 
many, the blood of those who fought to preserve our freedoms, the blood 
of our Founding Fathers and the vision they

[[Page H4873]]

set forth in our Constitution. And this Kelo case was a moment in time 
at a drop of a gavel when those fundamental rights were threatened and 
lost.
  So I stand today and ask my colleagues and all of the people across 
America to stand with us, to stand with me, to make sure we coordinate 
our efforts to make sure that our fundamental property rights are 
protected and individuals like Susette Kelo are rewarded for her 
bravery in taking the fight.
  Though she may have lost that battle, I stand with her to win this 
war to protect our fundamental property rights that so many have fought 
for over the years.

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