Jack Fields: “Mr. Chairman, I have a different interpretation than my friend from North Carolina because what this amendment does is…”

“Mr. Chairman, I have a different interpretation than my friend from North Carolina because what this amendment does is gut this legislation. It guts the private property rights of property owners which we are trying to protect because it takes out what is the real stick in this legislation. The real stick is if the Government comes in and takes your property because of an endangered species designation or a wetland declaration and you lose the beneficial use of your property as guaranteed by the Constitution, you are not going to be compensated by the Government. It is my hope that you do not see this used as an entitlement. This is intended to be used when property is lost, when the Government comes in and says there really is a need for this particular piece of property as a wetland, or there really is a particular need for this property because of an endangered species. When we passed the Endangered Species Act and when we passed Clean Water, it was never envisioned by this Congress that the basic water rights in the State of Texas would be abrogated because of a fountain darter.”