IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 329 
Expressing support for the private property rights protections guaranteed 
by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution on the 6th anniversary of 
the Supreme Court’s decision of Kelo v. City of New London. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2011 
Mr. GINGREY of Georgia (for himself, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. BROUN of Geor-
gia, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. JONES, Mrs. BONO MACK, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. MACK, and 
Mr. WEBSTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the private property rights protec-
tions guaranteed by the 5th Amendment to the Constitu-
tion on the 6th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 
decision of Kelo v. City of New London. 
Whereas, on June 23, 2005, the Supreme Court issued a 5– 
4 decision in the case of Kelo v. City of New London; 
Whereas the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment states, 
‘‘nor shall private property be taken for public use, with-
out just compensation’’; 
Whereas the majority opinion in Kelo v. City of New London 
significantly expanded the scope of the public use provi-
sion in the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment; 
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•HRES 329 IH 
Whereas the majority opinion in Kelo v. City of New London 
provided for the taking of a person’s private property 
through eminent domain for the benefit of another pri-
vate entity; 
Whereas the dissenting opinion in Kelo v. City of New Lon-
don affirmed that ‘‘the public use requirement imposes a 
more basic limitation upon Government, circumscribing 
the very scope of the eminent domain power: Government 
may compel an individual to forfeit her property for the 
public’s use, but not for the benefit of another private 
person’’; 
Whereas the dissenting opinion in Kelo v. City of New Lon-
don expressed concern that the beneficiaries of this deci-
sion were ‘‘likely to be those citizens with dispropor-
tionate influence and power in the political process, in-
cluding large corporations and development firms’’ and 
‘‘the Government now has license to transfer property 
from those with fewer resources to those with more’’; and 
Whereas all levels of government have a constitutional re-
sponsibility and a moral obligation to always defend the 
property rights of individuals and to only execute their 
power of eminent domain when necessary for public use 
alone, and with just compensation to the individual prop-
erty owner: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) State and local governments should only 
execute the power of eminent domain for those pur-
poses that serve the public good in accordance with 
the 5th Amendment to the Constitution; 
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•HRES 329 IH 
(2) State and local governments must always 
justly compensate those individuals whose property 
is taken through eminent domain in accordance with 
the 5th Amendment to the Constitution; 
(3) any execution of eminent domain by State 
and local governments that does not comply with 
paragraphs (1) and (2) constitutes an abuse of gov-
ernment power and a usurpation of the individual 
property rights, as defined in the 5th Amendment to 
the Constitution; 
(4) eminent domain should never be used to ad-
vantage one private party over another; 
(5) no State or local government should con-
strue the holdings of Kelo v. City of New London as 
justification to abuse the power of eminent domain; 
and 
(6) Congress maintains the prerogative and re-
serves the right to address, through legislation, any 
abuses of eminent domain by State and local govern-
ments in light of the ruling in Kelo v. City of New 
London. 
Æ 
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