Mrs. Kelo Goes to Washington
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Susette Kelo, the namesake of the atrocious Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London, No. 04-108 (2005), which effectively rendered the Fifth Amendment's "public use" requirement for eminent domain a nullity, is working the corridors of Congress trying to help fan the flames of the post-decision backlash.
I don't see Congress really accomplishing much on this issue other than to make a lot of speeches. Direct federal money to states and localities to subsidize eminent domain hasn't been significant since Title I of the Housing Act of 1949, which ushered in the "urban renewal" debacle of the 1950s and 1960s.
On the other hand, what about indirect federal money? Does no one see the analogy to the Solomon Amendment, which threatens colleges and universities with denial of all federal monies if they do not allow military recruiters on campus? Or how about the federal policy of withholding federal highway funds to states that did not adopt a 55 mph speed limit?
Why couldn't Congress theoretically demand, as a condition for continued receipt of any federal monies for any purpose, that states enact laws banning private-for-private eminent domain takings justified by nothing more than "economic development"?
I'm of course not saying Congress should impose such a "reverse extortion" abuse of the Spending Power -- the federal government shouldn't be taxing people in one state to give handouts to people in other states under any circumstances (including Katrina handouts, incidentally). My point is simply that if Members of Congress are going to grandstand about how "just plain wrong" Kelo is, then let them put their taxpayer money where their porkbarrel mouths are and literally demand change -- or else.
They've done it in the past, and they're doing it now -- why not do it when it really matters?
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who wants additional legislation to withhold Community Development Block Grant funds from states that allow the taking of private property for private use, called the Kelo decision "one of the most un-American things that one can imagine."Yeah, right, good luck with that.
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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is pushing a bill that would ban the use of federal funds in any construction utilizing the Kelo decision, hoping that will force local governments to negotiate with homeowners instead of using the Supreme Court decision to kick them out.
I don't see Congress really accomplishing much on this issue other than to make a lot of speeches. Direct federal money to states and localities to subsidize eminent domain hasn't been significant since Title I of the Housing Act of 1949, which ushered in the "urban renewal" debacle of the 1950s and 1960s.
On the other hand, what about indirect federal money? Does no one see the analogy to the Solomon Amendment, which threatens colleges and universities with denial of all federal monies if they do not allow military recruiters on campus? Or how about the federal policy of withholding federal highway funds to states that did not adopt a 55 mph speed limit?
Why couldn't Congress theoretically demand, as a condition for continued receipt of any federal monies for any purpose, that states enact laws banning private-for-private eminent domain takings justified by nothing more than "economic development"?
I'm of course not saying Congress should impose such a "reverse extortion" abuse of the Spending Power -- the federal government shouldn't be taxing people in one state to give handouts to people in other states under any circumstances (including Katrina handouts, incidentally). My point is simply that if Members of Congress are going to grandstand about how "just plain wrong" Kelo is, then let them put their taxpayer money where their porkbarrel mouths are and literally demand change -- or else.
They've done it in the past, and they're doing it now -- why not do it when it really matters?
All Related Posts (on one page) | Some Related Posts:
- Words of "Wisdom" from the USA Today School of Law
- Maybe They Can Give It to Pfizer
- House Passes "No Federal Funding" Eminent Domain Bill...
- Eminent Domain: On Cowboys, Yachtsmen and "Holdouts"
- Mrs. Kelo Goes to Washington
- The "Anti-Kelo" Kelo Case...
- Congress to the Rescue on Kelo?
- An Appropriate Post-Kelo Case
- The Slaughter-Rights Cases
Posted by KipEsquire on
21 September 2005
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