James Sensenbrenner, November 2, 2005

Suppose Uncle Sam comes knocking at your door, bulldozer in tow, to inform you that your house must be surrendered in order for a strip mall to be built. He explains the new development will generate higher property tax revenue, which is for the good of the community. What would you do? Most people would slam the door. After all, Uncle Sam can’t force Americans off their land merely for profit and increased tax revenue, right? Half-right.

This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case, Kelo v. City of New London, that justifiably created an uproar in our country. In a narrow 5-4 decision which broadened states’ eminent domain power, the Court held that private property could be "condemned" for the sole purpose of implementing a local government’s redevelopment plan, thereby allowing property to be turned over to private developers in a private-to-private transfer. Prior to the ruling, eminent domain was legally restricted to only projects with a clear public use, such as roads and schools.

As Justice Sandra Day O’Conner said in her stinging dissent, "nothing is to prevent the state from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz Carlton, any home with a shopping center, or any farm with a factory." Under this decision, Wisconsin farms are particularly vulnerable. The fair market value of farmland is less than residential or commercial property, which means it doesn’t generate as much property tax as homes or offices. With our cities and towns squeezing out farm and rural areas, what’s to stop family farms, passed down for generations, from being taken in the name of economic development?

To assure that Wisconsin’s churches, homes, and family farms are not bulldozed in abusive, for-profit land grabs, I introduced H.R. 4128, the Private Property Rights Protection Act. This bill prohibits the federal government from exercising its eminent domain power for economic development. It also prohibits federal funds from being used by state and local government for the same purpose. When the House of Representatives deliberates on my legislation later this week, it is expected to pass with overwhelming bipartisan support.

In order to squelch this practice, state and local governments will also need to create legislative restraints so judges can’t find ways to wiggle out of these protections. Growth and economic development are important to any community, but they should not be balanced on the back of individual property rights.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner, a Republican, represents the Fifth Congressional District of Wisconsin. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Fifth District of Wisconsin forms an arc surrounding Milwaukee to the North and West, and includes parts of Jefferson, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, and all of Ozaukee and Washington counties.