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U.S. House of Representatives Passes Meaningful Eminent Domain Reform, Legislation Now Heads to Senate

House to Homeowners: The Federal Government Won’t Fund Eminent Domain Abuse 

Washington, D.C.—Today the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 4128, the Private Property Protection Act of 2005.  The bill, sponsored by representatives from across the political and ideological spectrum, including Reps. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Henry Bonilla (R-TX), John Conyers, Jr., (D-MI) and Maxine Waters (D-CA), is a historic and important response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London, which gave governments the green light to transfer property from one individual to another—on the mere promise of increased tax revenue.  The bill denies, for two fiscal years, economic development funds to state and local governments that use eminent domain for private commercial development.  It also directly prohibits the federal government from using eminent domain for private development.

“The House, including large numbers of members from both sides of the aisle, should be applauded for passing this bill, which will help protect American home and small business owners from the abuse of eminent domain,” said Dana Berliner, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, which represented the Kelo homeowners before the U.S. Supreme Court.  “The legislation strikes the perfect balance.  It serves to reassure every American that federal dollars—their own money—won’t be used to kick them off their land, while allowing state and local governments to use federal dollars for actual public uses, like roads and military bases.”

“Citizens around the country are in almost universal agreement that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo was wrong,” said senior attorney Scott Bullock, who argued the Kelo case for the Institute.  “The Private Property Rights Protection Act recognizes this outrage and goes a long way toward making things right.  Government shouldn’t fund the destruction of the American Dream and this bill will make sure taxpayers aren’t paying to evict their neighbors from their homes and small businesses.”

“The Private Property Rights Protection Act highlights the fact that this nation’s eminent domain and urban renewal laws need serious and substantial changes,” said Chip Mellor, the Institute’s president and general counsel.  “It is up to the Senate now to do exactly what the U.S. Supreme Court refused to do:  protect homeowners from this abuse of government power.”