
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 4, 1995                   TAG: 9503060055
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FROM THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

PROPERTY RIGHTS BILL APPROVED

The Republican-led House Friday completed its promised assault on the executive branch's regulatory authority, easily passing legislation that dramatically broadens the rights of private property owners and restrains Washington's ability to enforce environmental laws.

On a 277-148 vote, the House adopted legislation giving property holders expansive rights to collect compensation from the federal government when agency actions to enforce environmental laws reduce the value of even a small portion of their property by 20 percent or more.

The bill would entitle property owners to compensation if government actions under the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act wetlands-permit program, and farm conservation and federal irrigation programs impinge on their property values. Property that is devalued by 50 percent or more would have to be purchased by the government if the owner requests it.

Originally, the legislation would have required compensation if a portion of a person's property was devalued by 10 percent or more, but the House moderated that threshold to 20 percent.

All members of the Virginia delegation voted for the bill except Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, and James Moran, D-Fairfax.

The focus on regulatory reform now moves to the Senate, where the Governmental Affairs Committee next week will write its version of a regulatory moratorium and hold hearings on permanent changes in the regulatory system. Clinton administration officials are hoping to negotiate a more moderate approach in the Senate.

House Republicans on Friday also moved a step closer to a vote on a vast restructuring of the welfare system, pushing their plan through the House Ways and Means Committee after softening sanctions against unwed, teen mothers and strengthening work requirements.

The proposals would consolidate an array of social programs serving poor families and the disabled, reducing spending on them by as much as an estimated $35 billion over the next five years. But states would receive direct cash payments to run the programs, along with considerable flexibility to design the rules.

A vote in the full House is expected late this month. Among the provisions in the package:

A five-year, lifetime limit would be put on cash payments. By the year 2003, half of all single-parent families and 90 percent of those with two parents would have to be working or looking for jobs to receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits.

Unwed mothers under 18 and their children would be denied cash benefits, though they would be eligible for Medicaid and food stamps.

Assistance would be cut or eliminated to poor families with disabled children, substance abusers and legal immigrants.

by CNB