WASHINGTON - Lawmakers are trying to blunt a Supreme Court decision that says local governments can seize people's homes to make way for shopping malls and other private development.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said Thursday the high court had made "a horrible decision" and he hoped it would cause a backlash.
"The only silver lining to this decision is the possibility that this time the court has finally gone too far and that the American people are ready to reassert their constitutional authority," said DeLay, R-Texas, a critic of recent court decisions. . . .
Legislation in the works also would ban the use of federal funds for any project getting the go-ahead using the Kelo v. City of New London (Conn.) decision.
"They're going to have to find their own money, instead of coming to Washington," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
According to this article from Reuters the House has already voted in favor of the limitation.
Frankly, what I'd like to see in Congress is a push to amend the Constitution to put an end to this expansion of condemnation powers made by the Supreme Court. A lot of people are unhappy about the ruling and the outrage crosses party boundaries. I believe such an amendment would have a good chance of going all the way.
Its hard to imagine anyone mounting any sort of reasonable opposition to it. This isn't about partisan politics, this is about what's best for the country.