Jack Reed: “this is a very auspicious moment in our history, not just this debate in the Senate but the fact that we are in the…”

“this is a very auspicious moment in our history, not just this debate in the Senate but the fact that we are in the midst of a war with extraordinary demands, fiscal demands as well as demands of patriotism, on the country. Yesterday we raised the debt limit. We are in a situation where there are efforts to fund worthy programs that are supported on both sides. First, of course, is national security, homeland defense, but also an educational proposal that the President championed. Yet at this time, we are considering the total repeal of the estate tax. A great deal of the discussion is rhetorical. I think it is useful to point out some of the facts with respect to the estate tax. First, no estate less than $1 million is taxed at all today, which excludes the vast majority of Americans. In fact, if most Americans are asked what they are worried about at the end of their days, it is not the estate tax. It is paying for long-term care. It is affording a nursing home without having to sell their home or dig deeply into their savings. That is what most Americans worry about. They are not worried about the estate tax. Ninety-eight percent of estates pay no estate taxes at all. In 1999, fewer than 49,000 out of 2.3 million estates--that is only 2.1 percent--paid any estate taxes whatsoever. This percentage is projected to drop as the exemption rises from $650,000 in 1999 to $3.5 million in the year 2009.”