Tom Lantos: “I will vote today to uphold the President's veto of the Estate Tax Elimination Act (H.R. 8). When this legislation was…”

“I will vote today to uphold the President's veto of the Estate Tax Elimination Act (H.R. 8). When this legislation was first considered in the House in June, I strongly supported and voted for the Democratic alternative which was presented by Congressman Rangel of New York. That proposal called for a significant reduction in the rate of taxation of estates and a 50 percent increase in the small business exclusion. The Rangel proposal was a thoughtful and reasonable effort to deal with the legitimate concerns of small businesses and family farms, but it did not have the problems of the legislation which was being urged by the Republican majority. When the Rangel substitute was defeated by the House, I nevertheless voted for the adoption of H.R. 8 in order to continue the legislative process. Initial Senate action was much closer to the Rangel substitute, and I expected a House-Senate Conference Committee to produce a bill that I could support. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Senate simply accepted the flawed version of the bill as adopted by the House and did not make those changes that would improve the legislation. President Clinton was right to veto this bill, and I will vote to sustain that veto.”