Timothy Roemer: “Mr. Speaker, I think the death tax is unwise, it is unfair, and really it is un-American. We need to reform it, but we…”

“Mr. Speaker, I think the death tax is unwise, it is unfair, and really it is un-American. We need to reform it, but we need to do it now, and we need to do it fairly. Under the proposal by the Republicans, the death tax would be phased out in the year 2011. Now, that means President Bush would have to finish out this term, his next term, get a constitutional amendment, and in the third year of his third term, the death tax might be gone. Members of Congress will have to run five times in order to tell their constituents by the year 2011 the death tax is finally gone. Secondly, I voted last week for a bipartisan repeal of the marriage penalty and for a doubling of the child tax credit. I am for tax cuts that will fit in the package of responsible tax relief. We need to do it by giving relief to our farmers and small businesses, not to Ted Turner and Bill Gates. I encourage my colleagues as a start to vote for the Rangel bill that, though not perfect, is a step in the right direction toward reform of the death tax.”