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News
from Rep. Stephanie Herseth
HERSETH AND GOODLATTE INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO PROTECT PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS February 12, 2007 – Today Representatives Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced the Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property (STOPP) Act. This bipartisan legislation, which cuts off all federal economic development aid to state or local governments that abuse their eminent domain power by seizing private property for private development purposes, was introduced in response to the narrow 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London, which gave local governments broad eminent domain power to seize private property from one party and give it to another. The STOPP ACT passed the House of Representatives in the 109th Congress by an overwhelming vote of 376-38. “The Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London dealt a serious blow to the fundamental rights of property owner,” said Rep. Herseth. “In essence, the ruling means that governments can take your property and give it to someone else for private use. I think this is a dangerous precedent that requires congressional action.” “The appalling Kelo decision struck a serious blow to the core values of our Nation, and has far reaching implications,” said Rep. Goodlatte. “The Court essentially erased any protection of private property as understood by the Founders of our Nation. As the saying goes, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take away everything you have."” The Supreme Court's ruling gives local governments broad power to seize property to generate tax revenue. State and local governments can now use eminent domain to take away the property of any individual for nearly any reason, including taking property for the benefit of another individual or corporation. Cities can now bulldoze private citizens' homes to make way for shopping malls or other development, essentially ensuring that no citizen's property is safe. The STOPP Act will prevent governments from taking property from one private party and giving it to another private party. When abuses occur, the STOPP Act will prohibit localities and states from receiving federal economic assistance on all economic development projects, not just those upon which abuses occur, for two years for each violation. While this legislation cracks down hard on private-private transfers, it would not prohibit the use of eminent domain for traditional, purely public purposes. The STOPP Act has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, on which Herseth and Goodlatte both serve. # # # |
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