[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24430]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CHECK ON SUPREME COURT DECISION

  (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, Thomas Jefferson said that ``the 
true foundation of republican government is the equal right of every 
citizen in his person and property,'' and the fifth amendment to the 
Constitution states ``nor shall private property be taken for public 
use without just compensation.''
  Thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain, the fifth 
amendment has been vastly expanded so that it now means ``for the 
bottom line.'' Public use has been redefined to say simply that tax 
revenues are more important than neighborhoods.
  The Founding Fathers did not mean ``public use'' to be defined as 
potential future economic development to increase tax revenues. Private 
property 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, and certainly not to 
provide the government with an excuse to seize our property.
  Our system only works with appropriate checks and balances, and this 
week Congress should exercise its check on a wayward Supreme Court 
decision and pass legislation that will demonstrate that increasing tax 
revenues should not trample the rights of private property owners.

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