Richard Shelby: “I am very pleased to introduce today, a piece of legislation that addresses the liberty and security of every individual…”

“I am very pleased to introduce today, a piece of legislation that addresses the liberty and security of every individual in this country. Mr. President, the bill that Senator Nickles and I are introducing is not about creating new rights. Rather, it is about preserving old rights. The private property owners bill of rights is intended to reaffirm and recognize a most basic purpose of government--the preservation of private property. And that purpose is twofold, Mr. President. Our Government not only has an affirmative constitutional duty to protect private property, but it also is restricted from taking private property for its own use without compensating the owner. And yet, even with such consensus and clarity on these constitutional guarantees and protections, the Federal Government continues to ignore the broader principles behind these guarantees every day. Through the application and implementation of laws like the Endangered Species Act and section 404 of the Clean Water Act, individuals are regularly deprived of the benefit and value of their labor, and denied the right to freely control, use or dispose of their property.”