[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION

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                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 2, 2005

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, back in June, the Supreme Court handed down 
a ruling in Kelo versus City of New London that states that the 
Government can seize personal property for the purpose of economic 
development. Mr. Speaker, this ruling embodies everything for which our 
Founding Fathers did not want this country to stand.
  Mr. Speaker, the Kelo ruling is a gross misinterpretation of the 
Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment allows for the government to 
obtain private property for public use, meaning this property can be 
obtained for the government to build something such as a school or a 
road. However, the Kelo ruling allows the government to take property 
owners' farms, private businesses, or even our homes so that big-time 
investors and businessman can come in to our towns and cities and build 
shopping malls and supermarkets on the property that is rightfully 
owned by our constituents.
  I support H.R. 4128, The Private Property Rights Protection Act, and 
urge all members to do so. This piece of legislation will allow us as 
Members of Congress to protect our constituents against the loophole 
created in Kelo by the Supreme Court, and will allow us to punish those 
state and localities that take advantage of their citizens and of this 
ruling.

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