Charles W. Stenholm: “I want the children of small business men and women to be able to inherit the family business that their parents worked…”

“I want the children of small business men and women to be able to inherit the family business that their parents worked to build. I want the children of farmers and ranchers to be able to inherit the farms and ranches that their family has farmed and ranched for years. That is why I voted for the Pomeroy-Thurman substitute, which would repeal the estate tax for virtually all small businesses and family farms immediately. However, I also want our children and grandchildren to inherit a strong economy and a Federal Government that can meet its commitments for Social Security and Medicare, and I definitely do not want them to inherit a massive national debt and legacy of deficit spending. I do not understand the philosophy of folks who do not have a problem with leaving our children and grandchildren with a large debt just so we can have a tax cut or more spending today. Just 2 weeks ago, the majority leadership tried to slip through a $750 billion increase in the debt limit, and completely ignored those of us who said that we ought to sit down and figure out how to get our budget back in order before we approve another $750 billion in debt.”