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- “Congressional
Legislation Would Thwart Effects of Kelo Decision” -
By Carol W. LaGrasse, PRFA, July 25, 2007
Reps. F. James Sensenbrenner and Maxine Waters introduced
federal legislation in July to rein in the effects of the Supreme
Court’s Kelo v. New London decision allowing
the use of eminent domain to take property from one private party
to transfer it to another private party for economic development.
The Property Rights Protection Act of 2007 (H.R. 3053) would
hold back federal funds for economic development where eminent
domain was used. However, the bill contains two exceptions allowing
eminent domain for economic development for an immediate threat
to public health and safety and to acquire abandoned property
that create a dangerous, open-ended exception for “blight,”
which should be deleted before the bill garners support.
See also: Eminent
Domain—National
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- “Update
on Property Rights in the U.S. Congress”-By Jason
Knox, Staffer, Resources Committee, U.S. House of Representatives,
Tenth Annual National Conference on Private Property Rights (PRFA,
Albany, N. Y., October 14, 2006)
Rep. Sensenbrenner’s eminent domain reform bill
(H.R. 4128) died in the Senate. Rep. Chabot’s bill
to enable property owners to bring Fifth Amendment takings cases
into federal court (H.R.4772) would overcome the requirement
that state remedies be exhausted and the ironic application of
res judicata. Eminent domain due process reform would eliminate
the bulk of federal condemnation abuse.
See also: Eminent
Domain—National
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- “Akaka
Bill Proposes ‘Native Hawaiian’ Tribe to Split Up Hawaii”
- By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, January 18, 2006)
The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (S. 147,
H.R. 309) proposed by Senator Daniel K. Akaka would create race-based
discord, dividing Hawaii into a multitude of intermingled jurisdictions,
with some people living under tribal law and others under the
laws of the State of Hawaii. Those choosing to be certified as
Native Hawaiians would be eligible to vote on tribal matters
and become eligible for benefits. In addition, large tracts of
land would come under tribal jurisdiction, and it is feared that
casino gambling could be also introduced.
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- “National
Property Rights Ombudsman Bill Announced” —
U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Press Release, Sandy, Utah, July 5,
2005
The “Empower Act” would apply the
Utah model of a State Property Rights Ombudsman to the federal
government, to inform people of their rights and actively work
to help property owners to take full advantage of their rights.
See also: Eminent
Domain—National
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- “Whither
the Endangered Species Act?” - By Carol W. LaGrasse
(PRFA, June 2005)
Industry lobbyists advocated a strategy of “strengthening”
and “modernizing” the Endangered Species
Act, while avoiding mention of the importance of private property
rights. Industry tactics divided the property rights movement,
while the grassroots leadership of the movement was kept out
of the loop during the drafting of the Pombo bill. The “2005
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act” does
not protect property rights and does not substitute voluntary
protection of species for the failed regulatory approach.
See also: Endangered
Species—National
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- Secret Endangered Species Reauthorization Bill in U.S.
Congress - Letter
to Rep. Richard Pombo, from Carol W. LaGrasse, PRFA,
June 15, 2005
Sometime during the spring, House Resources Committee
Chairman Richard Pombo drafted a bill to reauthorize the Endangered
Species Act, incorporating reforms advocated by industrial interest
groups, without allowing the property rights movement to have
copies of the bill.
See also: Endangered
Species—National
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- “Repealing
the Death Tax—Preserving Small Businesses”
- By Dick Patten, Executive Director, American Family Business
Institute, Washington, D.C.; Speech to the Eighth Annual Conference
on Private Property Rights (PRFA, Albany, N. Y. October 23,
2004)
Private property rights were held to be absolutely inalienable
in the American constitutional system. But the Communist Manifesto
of Marx and Engels began to have influence, calling for the abolition
of private property and inheritance. The 10% inheritance tax
of World War I rose to 77% by 1941, and is currently at 48%.
A close battle rages in the U.S. Senate for permanent repeal.
See also: Private
Property Rights—National
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- September
2003
Land Trust Bonanza in “Faith Based Initiative” Blocked
Again in Congress
In a victory for private property rights during September, the
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee approved President’s
Bush’s Faith Based Initiative (HR 7) but struck out the
special provision to create a tax loophole that would have been
capable of benefiting the wealthy land trusts to the tune of
a billion dollars. Despite a million-dollar lobbying effort by
the land trusts, the committee struck the loophole, which would
have created a 50 percent reduction in the capital gains tax
for selling land or conservation easements to the government
or land trusts. Bill Thomas, Chairman of the Committee, has been
named a “Champion of Property Rights” for ten straight
years by the League of Property Rights Voters. A conference committee
must still meet to reconcile the House and Senate versions of
the Initiative. The Senate version contains the land trust tax
loophole.
See also: Conservation
Easements
See also: Land
Trusts
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- August 27, 2003
“Highlands Stewardship Area” Bill would Allocate $25
Million Annually to Acquire Land in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut
and Pennsylvania - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, August 27,
2003)
Wealthy New York interests, non-profits, recreationists, and
preservationists have been working for over ten years on a grandiose
greenway from the Delaware River across northern New Jersey,
southern New York just north of the metropolitan region, and
western Connecticut. A new bill in Congress will direct money
from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to buy up land.
Read
full article.
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- January 8, 2003
Richard Pombo Named Chairman of the House Resources Committee
— Nationwide Victory for the Private Property Rights and
Wise use Movement
On January 8, 2003, the star Congressman for private property
rights, Richard Pombo, a rancher from California, was named Chairman
of the all-important House Resources Committee, which has been
key to issues such as heritage areas, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves,
endangered species, and land grabs and lockups involving the
National Park Service and its parent agency, the Department of
Interior. The selection of Mr. Pombo is a great victory because
he has stalwartly defended private property in arenas ranging
from unjust wetlands regulation to proposed designations of Heritage
areas. See full press
release from the American Land Rights Foundation.
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- Action Alert:
OPPOSE CARA IN THE HOUSE
“Son of CARA” Has Already Passed the Senate
Keep CARA off the floor!
Liberal Senators slipped a short version of CARA (S. 990) through
the Senate without a vote on December 23! This means that if
the full CARA passes the House of Representatives, a conference
version of the bills is virtually assured of passage in both
houses.
See also: Full
Action Alert
See also: Government
Land Ownership & Control—National
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- September
2001
“CARA
Alert-Letters, Telephone Calls, and Faxes urgently Needed”
Two powerful committee chairmen, Reps. Don Young (R - Alaska)
and Billy Tauzin (R - La.), may push the $45 billion Conservation
and Reinvestment Act to a vote on the House floor as early as
September 15, to avoid the growing dissent and efforts by House
leadership to bottle it up. The pork-barrel bill would automatically
funnel $3.1 billion annually into an untouchable trust fund to
buy up private land and preserve natural resources.
- See also: Government
Land Ownership & Control—National
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- August 2001
House of Representatives to consider CARA, the $44 billion anti-private
property bill
Defeated least year, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act came
back to life again in the House Resources Committee under the
leadership of Rep. Don Young (R - Al.) and Rep. Billy Tauzin
(R - La.), two formerly staunch defenders of private land ownership.
With $3.1 billion annually from federal off-shore oil drilling
revenues for government acquisition of private land and various
environmental purposes, H.R. 701 passed the committee 29-12 on
July 25 after six hours of acrimonious debate. Property rights
groups are unified nationally in opposition. In spite of the
threat of government land ownership to the future of hunting,
the bill enjoys the NRA’s endorsement. The web site www.landrights.org has
up-to-the-minute information on CARA.
See also: Government
Land Ownership & Control—National
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- April 2001:
Action Alert—Support
Congressional Hearings on Wetlands Regulatory Reform
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