Pete Stark: “It is pretty clear, because I talked to my colleagues a few months ago about why I did not intend to support removing…”

“It is pretty clear, because I talked to my colleagues a few months ago about why I did not intend to support removing the inheritance tax to make my children even richer than they will be, and so I am here today to explain to my colleagues in the simplest terms about what greed has done. I know the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) will do far better than I will on this, but my accountant tells me that under the Republican plan, I will save $28,253.82. Under the Democratic alternative as proposed by our distinguished ranking member and the Democrats, I would save $737, a difference of $27,500. My father-in-law is a retired teamster in San Marino, California. He has had a small business. He and people under $44,000 a year will receive $316 under the Bush plan, $289 under ours, a $25 difference. The $27,500 that my Republican colleagues are giving to Members of Congress is going to us instead of paying for a drug benefit for seniors. That is what is the issue today. The Republicans would destroy Medicare and Social Security by giving the money to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) and to me who arguably do not need it and deny decent benefits to the seniors in this country. It is clear.”