Presidential candidate Paul against use of eminent domain for pipeline project

REASNOR — Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) visited with farmers at VanGorp Farm in Reasnor Oct. 31, privately owned land that Dakota Access hopes to use eminent domain to place the Bakken oil pipeline. Paul voiced his opposition to the project during the meet and greet.

Paul arrived at the farm shortly after 9 a.m. where local landowners spoke with the senator about the effects of the project.

“They are cutting across another farm of ours that has the water access, 40 acres away from the main pasture and the main feed for the summer,” Bryce VanGorp said. “They are cutting through our alley and they are shutting off either my feed or my water source over on that farm during however long that pipe is open.”

The pipeline would go straight through VanGorp’s farm. VanGorp said that’s not the main issue for him but having to cut off either source of feed or water for his cows during a lengthy period of time would prove difficult.

The Iowa Utilities Board will make a decision later this year or in early 2016 on whether or not eminent domain can be used to access the landowners’ private property for the pipeline project. Paul said he opposes the forcible access of Iowa landowners’ land for the 1,134-mile pipeline.

“Government shouldn’t take private property from one property owner and give it to another property owner,” Paul said. “There are times when you have to use eminent domain for roads and things like that. But for this it’s going to another private property owner.”

In fact, Paul said his viewpoint on this issue is one of the biggest disagreements he has with one of the front-running Republican presidential candidates, Donald Trump.

“Trump is for taking property through eminent domain. In fact, that is what he did to build his casinos,” Paul said. “He would take people’s property to build parking lots. So I don’t think that should happen.”

It’s a controversial issue across the country, including in the senator’s home state of Kentucky. Paul referred to the 2005 case Kelo v. City of New London in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private property owner to another and said a majority of states then passed laws in opposition to the ruling.

“Forty states actually passed laws saying it can’t be done,” Paul said. “Almost all of the states came back passing legislation that said property cannot be taken from a private property owner and given to another private property owner. So I think it would be interesting to look at the state legislative law.”

But due to certain applications under Iowa law the utilities board has the right to rule one way or the other on the issue.

Paul visited with the Van Gorp’s for half an hour before continuing his weekend tour to Des Moines at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and CDS Global Corporate Headquarters. But before Paul visited Reasnor, he participated in a round table discussion at Jasper County Farm Bureau in Newton.

Paul focused on the national debt issue during his introduction and said the decisions being made by both parties is the reason for a climbing debt.

“We went from $5 trillion to $10 trillion (in debt) under a Republican administration, that’s when I decided I was going to get involved,” Paul said. “Not because I was unhappy with Democrats, but I was unhappy with my own party. I knew the Democrats were big spenders and they were going to spin us into oblivion. And they’ll tell you that. They’re not for a balanced budget.”

He said the problem with his own party is that they will vote for a balanced budget amendment but won’t vote for a budget that balances. The Kentucky senator is also disgusted with the amount of funds being spent in foreign countries — including $1 trillion in Iraq, he said.

“Both parties are set in their ways and both have sacred cows,” Paul said. “The right wants more military spending and left wants more domestic welfare spending. They get together and they both spend more money. That’s why we’re in this fix.”

Contact Alex Olp at
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aolp@jaspercountytribune.com