Political Quotes

“I support--and have voted in support of-- estate tax relief, but I cannot support repeal of the estate tax. Moreover, even if my colleagues favor repeal of the estate tax, they should oppose H.R. 8. This is an irresponsible, inequitable, and misleading piece of legislation. This bill is irresponsible because of the impact it will have on the federal budget. This legislation repeals the estate tax over time--over a long time. The repeal of the estate tax provided for in H.R. 8 doesn't fully phase in until 2011--about the time that the federal government's non-Social Security surpluses are projected to end. Does it make sense to cut federal receipts by over $60 billion a year just when the government is expected to run massive deficits--as the number of senior citizens on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is expected to double and expenditures on those programs explode? Obviously, it goes without saying that a tax cut that is not fully phased in for ten years will do little to stimulate the economy in the short term. The Democratic alternative--which I support, but which was rejected on a party-line vote in the Ways and Means Committee--would, in contrast, provide immediate relief to farmers and small family businesses. And that brings me to another important point. H.R. 8, by phasing in repeal of the estate tax over such a long period of time, conceals the actual cost of repealing the estate tax.”