Senators, property owners review Kelo
By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Sep 21 2005 12:00AM
Private-property owners and government officials squared off
yesterday in a Senate hearing over what makes up the American dream.
Mayor Eddie A. Perez of Hartford, Conn., said the
American dream means letting city governments seize property under newly
expanded eminent-domain powers so they can give it to private developers who
promise to generate greater tax revenue with it.
Susette Kelo -- whose restored pink home in New
London, Conn., faces such a seizure -- said the American dream means owning a
home without fear that the government will take it to give to the highest
bidder.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled in favor
of government use of eminent-domain powers to take property and give it to
private developers. The 5-4 Kelo v. City of New London decision stunned
lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, many of whom noted it as another reason
to push the court in a more conservative di! rection.
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and member of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, has introduced a bill that would prohibit
federal funds from being used in cases in which the expanded authority is used.
Ms. Kelo applauded that bill.
"What we have now at
the local, state and federal level amounts to government by the highest
bidder," she said. "That has got to stop."
Though
criticism of the Kelo decision has come from both conservatives suspicious of
big government and liberals who fear the impact on the poor and minorities,
only one Democrat -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont -- showed up for part of
yesterday's hearing. Most Republicans on the panel attended.
At the start of the hearing, Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, said that he'd just
come from a meeting at the Supreme Court attended by the author of ! the
decision, Justice John Paul Stevens.
&nbs! p; "I told
Justice Stevens that we were having this Kelo hearing and if he has some spare
time later this morning, to come on over. We'd be glad to hear from him," Mr.
Specter said. "He didn't think that was very funny, but all the other judges
laughed."
Mr. Perez, speaking on behalf of the
National League of Cities, said: "Eminent domain is a powerful
economic-development tool that helps cities create jobs, grow businesses, and,
most importantly, strengthen neighborhoods."
And
despite the near-universal outrage from minority groups, the Hartford mayor
said eminent domain is good for blacks.
"For urban
America and communities of color, in particular, homeownership is the ticket to
the American dream," Mr. Perez said. "If Congress were to pass legislation to
hamstring state and local governments from using eminent domain in some of our
poorest communities, I believe that we would have fewer pe! ople becoming
homeowners."
And property-rights advocates have
nothing to worry about, he said.
"From [an] owner's
position, it seems to me that eminent domain ... is, in a way, the most
attractive way in which to have your property rearranged," he said, noting that
the owner is compensated.
Ms. Kelo said she just
wants to keep her house and be left alone.
"None of
us asked for any of this," she said. "We were simply living our lives, working,
taking care of our families and paying our taxes."
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