[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 4, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           H.R. 1215, TAX FAIRNESS AND DEFICIT REDUCTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Tiahrt] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, today marks a dramatic change in the way 
Washington sets policy, and the way Congress does business. We have 
begun discussing a truly revolutionary tax bill. I would like to share 
with you why this bill, H.R. 1215 the tax relief bill is so important 
to me.
  I want to be clear from the very beginning that this tax relief bill 
is not about rich versus poor. It's about rewarding behavior which 
grows our economy, pays off our debt, and keeps the torch of our system 
of self-governance burning bright.
  You know, I was just elected to Congress last November. My wife, my 
three children, and I have enjoyed a nice life. But, we've worked hard, 
have been careful with our money, and have planned for the future.
  I can still remember growing up on our family farm. As a family we 
woke up early and worked just as hard then. Like most farm families, 
our life was tough. But the love and good times we shared around the 
kitchen table, made all the tough times worth it.
  When I hear people talking in this well about the Republicans trying 
to line the pockets of their rich friends, I think back to my days on 
that farm with my brother and sisters. I think back to the high-water 
pants I wore, and tried to cover up with lace-up boots, so no one could 
see.
  President Dwight Eisenhower, a proud Kansan, used to talk about his 
humble childhood. He said he never realized he was poor when he was a 
kid, because he didn't know anything else. When I look back on my 
roots, President Eisenhower's description, I can identify with my 
fellow Kansan.
  It is not despite my humble roots that I strongly support this bill, 
but because of my roots. This tax cut bill we will be discussing 
tomorrow is about families, and it is also about rewarding behavior 
which leads to a better community and a stronger nation.
  This tax bill is about aiming at a goal, and trying to attain that 
goal. This tax bill is about Americans becoming their highest and best.
  Americans can do better than to encourage its oldest and wisest 
citizens to mothball their talents prematurely, just because they reach 
the age of 65. But, that is exactly what this country does when it 
discourages productive behavior on the parts of its senior citizen. 
Allowing seniors to earn more and pay less taxes is reason alone to 
support this bill.
  In fact the entire bill will help to keep this economy growing, and 
thus making it possible for us to balance our books by 2002. But the 
part of the bill which I support the strongest is the decrease in 
estate taxes.
  I shared with you my farm background. Family farms are like so many 
other small businesses. Like my grandparents who worked hard their 
whole life, and they never felt they had any money. When they died they 
left the farm. In a sense my grandfather was rich for a day. My parents 
inherited the family farm. But after they paid all the debts, the notes 
and the dreaded inheritance tax, it was like they bought the farm from 
a stranger, the Government.
  Is it right in America, a land where the right to own property is a 
fundamental right, that younger generations have to mortgage the family 
land to pay the Government's taxes.
  Is it fair to burden families with outrageous inheritance taxes, when 
that capital used to purchase the land has already been taxed once or 
twice already?
  I am proud to support this bill which will increase the estate and 
gift tax exemption from $600,000 to $750,000. I am also proud that the 
$750,000 amount will be indexed for inflation from 1998 on.
  Anyone who has worked in a family business or on a family farm knows 
that a value of $750,000 is not large as businesses or family farms go. 
And oftentimes families are forced to sell the businesses after a death 
just to pay the inheritance taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, families have to deal with enough hardship when a loved 
one dies. Let's not add to their grief. In fact let's give them a hand, 
but keeping the hand of government out of their pockets. Let's pass 
H.R. 1215. It's the right thing for farmers, it's the right thing for 
small businesses, and it's the right thing for families.


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