[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 57 (Monday, April 20, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DEATH TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2015

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                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 16, 2015

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this reckless and 
regressive bill.
  My colleagues in the Majority often claim to be opposed to government 
spending they describe as ``wasteful.'' But this bill is the epitome of 
wasteful spending. By permanently repealing the estate tax, without any 
additional revenue whatsoever to cover the losses, it increases our 
nation's deficit by almost $270 billion.
  Make no mistake--tax breaks are spending. Moreover, this bill spends 
money on those who need it least. According to the Joint Committee on 
Taxation, only the wealthiest 0.2 percent of estates will benefit at 
all, and almost three quarters of the benefits will go to estates worth 
more than $20 million.
  For every rich estate that reaps the benefits of this bill, there are 
ten thousand of our fellow citizens living in poverty. Yet the same 
House Majority that now supports this bill also passed a budget last 
month that would cut $125 billion from food stamps and kick up to 20 
million Americans off Medicaid--all at a time when working families are 
struggling to make ends meet. Talk about misplaced priorities.
  Madam Speaker, instead of spending hundreds of billions on a tax 
break for a wealthy elite, we should be directing more assistance to 
those who are in genuine need. That is why I urge my colleagues to vote 
against this bill.

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