Byron Dorgan: “I was interested in the discussion offered by the Senator from Illinois. In fact, I was interested in the discussion…”

“I was interested in the discussion offered by the Senator from Illinois. In fact, I was interested in the discussion earlier by the Senator from Arizona, Mr. Kyl, who was complaining about some comments I made earlier in the day. As I understand the Senator from Illinois, he indicated earlier--and I did earlier today as well--that he would support an amendment that would effectively say we will repeal the estate tax for all small businesses and family farms up to $8 million. So there is no disagreement in this Chamber on that. We will repeal the estate tax for those estates up to $8 million. The difference is the majority party says that is not enough. We want to repeal the estate tax for estates over $8 million as well. The Senator from Illinois seems to be saying, as I said this morning, that the loss of revenue by repealing the estate tax for the wealthiest estates in this country is something that ought to be measured against other alternatives, such as providing a tax cut for middle-income people, for example, or a range of investments that might be made to strengthen this country. The Senator from Arizona, I noted, was saying: Well, people who think like that are big-spending liberals. Who are the real big spenders?…”