John Cornyn: “the main reason I wanted to come to the floor today was to talk about the important issue of private property rights.…”

“the main reason I wanted to come to the floor today was to talk about the important issue of private property rights. Today marks the 1-year anniversary of one of the most controversial decisions ever handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that is the case of Kelo v. the City of New London. In that decision, the Court held by a 5-to-4 vote that the government may seize private property, whether it be a home or small business or other private property, for the purpose--not of public good but, rather, to transfer that same property to another private owner simply because the transfer would create an increased economic benefit to that community. What made this such a profoundly alarming decision was that it represented a radical departure both from what the Constitution says-- that the power of government to condemn private property should be used only for public use--and it represented a radical departure from the decisions handed down interpreting that constitutional provision over the last 200 years. After all, protection of homes and small businesses and other private property against government seizure or unreasonable government interference is a fundamental principle of American life and really a distinctive aspect of our form of government. Indeed, private property rights rank among the most important rights outlined by the Founding Fathers when this country was created. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the protection of such rights is: . . .…”