Steve Chabot: “If you are making an argument to support your side of the case, there are a number of them that are let's say not at the…”

“If you are making an argument to support your side of the case, there are a number of them that are let's say not at the height of popularity as we speak here today. But just to mention a couple of things that the gentleman touched upon, especially the environmental concerns, for example. There is nothing in this bill that would prohibit the protection of land for environmental, health and safety reasons. However, if the land is so regulated as to deny the owner any use of it, then, yes, the owner needs to be paid just compensation. The fifth amendment does not have an exemption for environmental laws or any other laws. In fact, the best approach would be to purchase the land, possibly through eminent domain, rather than trying to pull a fast one and harm the property owner or take that person's property without just compensation. The basic idea is that individual property owners should not bear all of the costs of protecting our communities.”