Congressman Cole Votes for Personal Property Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Congressman Tom Cole voted for legislation today that will enhance the penalty for states and localities that abuse their eminent domain power. The Private Property Rights Protection Act (H.R. 4128) passed in the House and now must be debated in the Senate.

"Private ownership of property is vital to both our freedom and our prosperity. Under the recent Supreme Court decision in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, the Court essentially erased any protection of private property as understood by our Founding Fathers. The legislation passed today by the House will help defend the private property rights of every American that are essential to our way of life," Congressman Tom Cole said.

On June 23, the Supreme Court, in a 5 to 4 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, held that “economic development” can be a “public use” under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. In doing so, the Supreme Court allowed the government to take private property from one homeowner and give it to a large corporation for a private research facility.

"This is not what our Founding Fathers intended when they wrote the 5th Amendment. The Takings Clause was designed to protect private ownership, not to outline the conditions for its destruction," Congressman Tom Cole said.

H.R. 4128 protects private property rights by prohibiting states and localities from receiving any federal economic development funds for a specified period of time if such entities abuse their power of eminent domain, even if only state and local funds are used in that abuse of power. The policy is that states or localities that abuse their eminent domain power by using “economic development” as a rationale for a taking should not be trusted with federal “economic development” funds that could contribute to similarly abusive land grabs.

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