Henry Waxman: “Last fall, the House passed legislation that contained a $254 million tax break for Enron, and the public was so amazed…”

“Last fall, the House passed legislation that contained a $254 million tax break for Enron, and the public was so amazed that some people refused to believe what this House had done. Well, guess what? Today we are trying to do it again. This legislation is even more generous to Enron executives than last year's retroactive repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax. This bill would give tax breaks worth over $300 million to the estates of Enron executives. The same people that looted the company, deceived the public, cooked the books, and bankrupted thousands of employees are going to get hundreds of millions of dollars under today's legislation. This bill is not about protecting family farms and small businesses. They are all well protected by the gentleman from North Dakota's (Mr. Pomeroy) amendment. It is about doing favors for well-connected campaign contributors, like Enron CEO, Ken Lay. The repeal of the estate tax made no sense last year when we had surpluses; but now we are facing mounting deficits, and it is an insane policy. The people who will pay for this tax break for the super-rich are working families. No matter what the Republicans say, there is only one source of money for a tax break of this magnitude, the Social Security trust fund.”