[Willis:] Is your town plotting to take away your house? It's not as crazy as it sounds. Local governments all over the country are using eminent domain to seize homes. The good news? Congress is stepping in. J.J. Ramberg takes a look.
[Suzette Kelo, Homeowner:] It's worth fighting for. I'm not interested in leaving, at all.
[J.j. Ramberg, Cnn Correspondent:] Suzette Kelo is one of six holdouts in New London, Connecticut, and she's just the kind of homeowner many in Congress are trying to help. The House voted 376 to 38 last week to discourage local governments from forcing homeowners and small business owners to give up their property for commercial use. The bill would withhold all federal funds for two years to any local governments that do so.
[Rep. Bob Goodlatte , Virginia:] That's a very severe sanction, and the intent is to make it absolutely clear that we think that that policy is contrary to the Constitution and contrary to good government public policy to protect private property rights.
[Ramberg:] Congress's move stems out of Kelo's recent loss before the Supreme Court. The justices apparently expanded the government's power of so-called eminent domain. They gave a green light to New London to seize her house and close to a hundred others, so that the city could transfer their properties to private developers to build offices, hotels, condos, even an aquarium. It's a departure, because traditionally, the government only seizes private land for public projects like roads, schools, and hospitals. But New London officials argued this private development would benefit its residents just as much.
[Tom Londregan, City Attorney, New London, Connecticut:] This case was never about the taking of property from one person and giving it to another. This case was not some type of a land grab. This case was about the city of New London, its six square miles, and its economic survival.
[Ramberg:] The Supreme Court agreed. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, "The city has carefully formulated an economic development plan that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including, but by no means limited to, new jobs and increased tax revenue." In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote, "Nothing is to prevent the state from replacing anything Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, any farm with a factory." But now, if the Senate follows the House's lead, there may be limits after all. And for Suzette Kelo, the fight goes on. Though demolition was scheduled to start this fall, the city of New London is adhering to a call from Connecticut's governor for a moratorium while more legislation is decided. For OPEN HOUSE, I'm J.J. Ramberg, CNN.
[Willis:] So what happens if your town wants to take your home? Scott Bullock argued the case for Suzette Kelo before the Supreme Court. He's a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice. It's a group that defends homeowners against eminent domain seizure. Welcome, good to see you.
[Scott Bullock, Senior Attorney, Institute For Justice:] Thanks. Good to be with you.
[Willis:] I got to tell you, this is a homeowner's worst nightmare. Who is most at risk for having their home seized?
[Bullock:] Well, typically, the people who are most at risk are working-class folks or middle-class folks who happen to live in neighborhoods, oftentimes with nice views, either of the water or of some other type of natural geography, and also neighborhoods that are close to interstates and to highway systems. Those are the areas that are sought and desired by developers. And unfortunately, too many cities are willing to take people's land...
[Willis:] Right.
[Bullock:] ... and give it to those private developers.
[Willis:] So the property that I'd like to buy is also the property the government would like to buy. That's good to hear. So what's the process? How do I know that the government has decided that my neighborhood is the one targeted to go?
[Bullock:] Well, typically, the government engages in what's known as a development plan, or a redevelopment plan, first. And they talk a lot about how they want to revitalize the community and have more economic development, things that most people are in favor of.
[Willis:] Right.
[Bullock:] The last thing they're going to talk about is the possibility of using eminent domain. And that's why it's very important for homeowners and small business owners to stay informed. And once they hear of something like a redevelopment...
[Willis:] Right.
[Bullock:] ... area, or that their property has been declared blighted, they have to be very aware of that, and make their neighbors very aware of that as well. Because that is oftentimes...
[Willis:] OK, Scott.
[Bullock:] ... the first step...
[Willis:] I'm going to...
[Bullock:] ... in eminent domain.
[Willis:] ... interrupt you here. There's actually a lot of time, usually, if you're paying attention and reading your paper, for you to get involved and become an activist to prevent this from happening, right?
[Bullock:] That's absolutely right. And the good news about eminent domain, even though it's a very bad Supreme Court decision, is that citizens throughout the country have rallied, have gotten the information to their fellow citizens, and have defeated a number of these projects, even before it got to litigation.
[Willis:] Right.
[Bullock:] And I think that trend's going to continue.
[Willis:] So the success stories out there, where people have actually been successful, what was the key? What did they do right?
[Bullock:] Well, the key to it is raising public awareness, because most people, as polls have shown in the wake of the Kelo decision, are very opposed to the use of eminent domain to take land from one private owner, hand it over to another private owner. Most people think that that's, frankly, un-American. So the public will support attempts to stop eminent domain abuse. The challenge, and why it's so important to raise public awareness of this, are, typically powerful people are on the other side of this, city officials and developers and large businesses who want these projects to go forward. But if you can get the support of the public, and let the political figures know that you're going to hold them accountable...
[Willis:] Right.
[Bullock:] ... oftentimes these projects...
[Willis:] Yes, let me...
[Bullock:] ... can be stopped.
[Willis:] ... let me interrupt you here. So it's important not to be shy here, right? I think you need to give some tactile suggestions for people who are fighting this. What do I do? Do I get a petition? Do I make posters?
[Bullock:] You frankly have...
[Willis:] Give me some clues.
[Bullock:] ... you frankly have to raise hell. You have to show up at city council meetings, and you have to tell them what is going on. You have to tell them that this has to stop. You have to have rallies. You have to write op-educates. You have to do many things that a lot of people, frankly, don't have the time for in people's busy lives, and maybe have not done in the past. But that's the only way that...
[Willis:] OK.
[Bullock:] ... citizens are able to stop this. But the good news is, if you're if you persevere, and you are effective in getting the word out about this, oftentimes these projects can be defeated.
[Willis:] All right. Quickly, we don't have a lot of time left. But tell me, if you do get that letter from the government, what should you do? If you're being told, hey, your house is going to get knocked down, do you have any recourse?
[Bullock:] Absolutely. One of the first things people should do is visit a Web site that we put together called CastleCoalition.org, O-R- G. And that provides a lot of grassroots, how-to information on how to stop these projects, to get the tools that people need to fight eminent domain abuse in their communities.
[Willis:] All right. Well, Scott Bullock, thanks for your time today. I want to mention one more time that Web site, CastleCoalition.org. It's got lot of great suggestions for you if you're in this situation. Next, leaky windows can wreak havoc on your home heating costs. We've got some easy and low-cost solutions. Here are the mortgage numbers.