Bob Kerrey: “This proposal began in 1995. I heard the Senator from Texas describe it as a sacred part of the Contract With America.…”

“This proposal began in 1995. I heard the Senator from Texas describe it as a sacred part of the Contract With America. In 1995, Senator Lieberman and I introduced KIDSAVE as a modification to this $500 per child tax credit, and it set up a savings account for children. It was mandatory. The idea was that Americans are not saving enough money, they are struggling to put aside savings, and that is especially revealed when you look at one of the most important parts of this tax proposal, which is the reduction of tax on estates. Mr. President, about 1 percent or 2 percent of Americans have estates over $600,000. It is a provision that affects a relatively small number of Americans. I appreciate my colleagues on the other side of the aisle saying that is one of their top concerns, that 1 percent or 2 percent of Americans who have estates over $600,000. KIDSAVE is put together as a consequence of our concern for the 98 percent of Americans that do not. The only way that you will be able, particularly for middle-income people, to acquire that wealth is to save a little bit of money over a long period of time. So I say we are not breaking any deal. We introduced this bill in 1995. It was endorsed at the time by the Heritage Foundation. The only thing that is going on here, in my judgment, is the Christian Coalition is arguing that this is a violation of something they want. So they are rallying the troops and trying to get it changed.”