The House Agriculture Committee approved a measure that prohibits federal economic development money for states and localities that use eminent domain to take land from private owners for economic development purposes. The Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act (HR 3405), sponsored by Rep. Henry Bonilla (R.-Tex.), won approval on a 40-to-1 committee vote. Said House Agriculture Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R.-Va.): "The nation's Founding Fathers realized the fundamental importance of property rights when they codified the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment to the Constitution, which requires that private property shall not be taken 'for public use, without just compensation.' No one should have to live in fear of the government's snatching up their home."
