Kent Conrad: “let me correct one matter of history here. The Senator from Arizona says this bizarre circumstance with the estate tax…”

“let me correct one matter of history here. The Senator from Arizona says this bizarre circumstance with the estate tax ending in 2010 and then coming back in 2011 with lower exemption amounts is the fault of the Democrats. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That is a whopper. That is a double whopper. As the Senator knows, we weren't in charge when that tax policy was put in place. Our friends on the other side were in charge. They controlled the Senate, they controlled the House, they controlled the White House. They wrote this tax policy. Why? They did it because they wanted to put more tax cuts into the bill than they could afford, so they played an old Washington game and an old Washington trick. They sunsetted their tax provision at the end of the period to reduce its cost. They are the ones who constructed this monstrosity. It is their responsibility, and we are fixing it. We are fixing it in this budget resolution and we are paying for it. That is a fundamental American value.”