[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 87 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S6807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:

[[Page S6807]]

  S. 3626. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
estate tax relief and reform, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Finance.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, this is a bill that will reduce the 
estate tax and reform a system that needs to be reformed. It is an 
issue that many of us have been working on for several--not only 
several months but for several years. Leaders on both sides of the 
aisle and Members on both sides of the aisle have been trying to come 
up with a compromise position that would be respectful of the fiscal 
situation of our country and also mindful that this tax in its current 
form, at least the rates and the way it is applied in its current form, 
can simply not be sustained. It makes no sense for this tax to be in 
place 1 year and go completely away the next year and then come back in 
the next year at a completely different rate.
  We have been trying to make this much more simple for taxpayers who 
have to comply with it and much more fair so that it is not a 
discouragement for people who want to start businesses at later years. 
We want to try to be fair to the Federal Treasury and to the many 
demands.
  At one point, I supported the total repeal of this tax. That one time 
was when we were running a surplus and before we were engaged in the 
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The war in Iraq is costing this country 
approximately $4 billion to $6 billion a month. It has been going on 
for 3 years. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be an end in sight 
because things are not going as well as many of us had hoped. We must 
continue to make a priority of this Nation supporting our men and women 
in uniform--whether they are here at home or in Iraq in the frontline 
or in Afghanistan in the frontline or other frontlines around the 
world. So we simply cannot afford to repeal this tax. It takes too much 
money out of the Treasury at a time when we need it to support our 
troops. Most Americans, regardless of how they feel about the war, 
realize we need the money to support our troops and keep them safe and 
help bring them home as soon as possible.
  I offer this bill in the spirit of compromise. Hopefully, it will 
give some guidance to those who may be looking for something they can 
support, that costs significantly less than what Chairman Thomas has 
proposed, what Senator Kyl has proposed, and what others have proposed, 
yet gives that assurance to businesses that they will not have to pay a 
fluctuating rate.
  The most important thing I think my bill does is it completely 
eliminates the estate tax for 99.9 percent of the people in Louisiana 
and a great percentage of people throughout the country. If you are an 
estate of less than $10 million, you will pay no tax. If you are a 
single person with $5 million or an estate worth $10 million, you have 
to pay income tax, you will pay capital gains tax, you will pay payroll 
tax, you will pay a lot of other taxes that come with the rights and 
privileges of being an American citizen, but you will not pay an estate 
tax. Only those estates over $10 million will pay the tax. And those 
over $100 million--which I would call superstates--would pay a little 
more than those that are in the middle.
  As a Democrat and as a Senator, I believe in a free enterprise system 
where people can make money and benefit from their hard work. We need 
to balance between the individual's right to keep as much money as they 
can make and the Nation's needs to conduct wars, to protect our 
borders, to protect our coasts, to build our highway system--which is 
50 years old today and certainly did not get built on a wish and a 
prayer. It got built with good design, good political will, and a lot 
of money that went into building that highway system that we can be 
proud of. It needs to be improved.
  So for those who say every American should be able to keep all the 
money they make, I don't know who would keep the public sector that 
does so much good--from the men and women in uniform, to building the 
highways, to keeping our air clean and water clean, and other things 
that we depend on Government to help operate and collect in a sensible 
way.
  I offer this in a spirit of compromise. It is something I certainly 
can support, and I look forward to working with my colleagues as we 
move through this recess to come to terms with something that is 
fiscally responsible and also cognizant of trying to get this tax 
leveled so people can plan on what they are going to have to pay and it 
will not become a burden on anyone and so everyone can plan, even those 
with a great deal of money.
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