Jim Ramstad: “I daresay, without the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bill Archer], we would not be here with this tax relief bill, the most…”

“I daresay, without the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bill Archer], we would not be here with this tax relief bill, the most substantial tax relief for the American people since 1981. In addition to the more publicized provisions of this bill, the child tax credit, the higher education relief, the capital gains cuts, and the death tax relief, I would like to point out several provisions that I have worked on for many months with several of my colleagues to help victims of the recent flooding in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and the Dakotas. We include special mortgage revenue bond rules for those people to rebuild their homes in the flood areas. We extend the IRS deadlines in the flood areas. We provide interest abatement for delayed filings, and special IRS rules for the forced sales of livestock that were caused by the horrible, horrible floods. I am also gratified that several other reforms I have worked on are included. We changed the rules governing employee stock ownership plans [ESOP's] to make it easier for small businesses to give ownership to employees of the company. We prevent the taxation of survivors benefits. We stop, no more taxation for survivors benefits for police officers or firefighters killed in the line of duty.”