[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 181 (Tuesday, November 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE ESTATE TAX

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the amazing story of 
Rick Corman, the hardworking, hard-charging founder of R.J. Corman 
Railroad Group in Nicholasville, Kentucky, in my district. Rick's life 
story is an example of the American Dream, and his tireless spirit, 
grit, determination, and generosity benefited not only the employees of 
R.J. Corman, but an entire community.
  Unfortunately, because of America's broken Tax Code, the abilities of 
entrepreneurs like Rick are compromised, and the estate tax, in 
particular, threatens the future ability of the R.J. Corman Railroad 
Group to continue to drive economic growth, employment, and charitable 
giving in Kentucky.
  This story is timely. As Congress takes on the task of reforming our 
broken Tax Code over the next few weeks, critics will undoubtedly 
protest that this plan is a tax cut for the rich, and they will cite 
our changes to the estate tax as an example. But as the story of Rick 
Corman reveals, the estate tax is not a tax on the wealthy as much as 
it is an unfair penalty on hard work, jobs, charity, upward mobility, 
and the American Dream.
  In 1973, after growing up in a low-income, five-room house with no 
interior bathroom, Rick Corman started his company immediately 
following high school graduation with nothing more than a dump truck, a 
backhoe, and a tenacious spirit. Driven by his remarkable operator 
skills, and then by his commitment to safe and reliable service, Rick 
was able to become a trusted provider in the railroad industry.
  But his success would not have been possible without the assistance 
early in his career from Luther Deaton, a community banker for what is 
now called Central Bank in Kentucky. As Rick grew his company, he faced 
debts and cash flow problems. He struggled to get a loan. As Luther 
said: He had a good company; he just faced a cash crunch.
  But Rick invited Luther to the site of a coal train derailment inside 
a tunnel in the middle of the night to show his work; and Rick, 
recalling the episode, laughed because he had gotten his banker filthy 
and covered in coal dust. But after that experience and seeing how hard 
Rick worked, Luther knew that this man would not fail. So Rick was then 
able to secure character-based loans that allowed his company to thrive 
because his community banker was willing to take a risk on him based on 
what he knew about his business and Rick's drive to succeed.
  Today, this type of loan would never be allowed under the overly 
restricted Dodd-Frank law, but those loans proved to be essential for 
the growth of Rick's company and ultimately highly profitable for the 
bank.
  Without access to capital, today's entrepreneurs are prohibited from 
doing what Rick Corman did. Over 40 years he grew his company into what 
is today known as R.J. Corman Railroad Group, continuously investing 
profits back into his business, into its workers, and into the 
surrounding community.
  Today, R.J. Corman has field offices in 23 States. The company serves 
all seven class I railroads, many regional and short line railroads, as 
well as various rail-served industries.
  Rick grew the company into what it is today by treating all of his 
workers well, working alongside them, and never asking them to do a job 
that Rick himself was unable or incapable of doing himself. The 
company's diversity and investment in people gave it the ability to 
service all aspects of the freight railroad industry at any scale. The 
company has been critical to restoring service when class I railroads 
are devastated by flooding or storms like Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, 
or Irma.
  But now the future success of this company is threatened by the 
estate tax, also known as the death tax. In 2013, Rick Corman passed 
away after a heroic 12-year battle with cancer. It resulted in the 
transfer of his life's work to a living trust. More than anything, Rick 
had an intense appreciation for the hard work and loyalty of his 
employees who had been and continue to be an integral part of the 
company's success, and he wanted to ensure that he protected their jobs 
into the future.
  Since Rick's passing, the trust has continued to reinvest cash into 
the company, as he intended, and the company continues to operate and 
help those who have benefited from it. The company has invested nearly 
$110 million in capital assets, and employment has grown by 53 percent, 
nearly 450 jobs. The company has donated more than $2.5 million to 
charitable causes since Rick's passing.
  But due to the estate tax, the company has yet to feel the full 
impact of the tax. But starting in 2019, nearly 30 percent of its 
annual cash flow will be pulled from the company as a result. This will 
significantly impact R.J. Corman's ability to create jobs, 
purchase equipment, and donate to charity. The leadership of the 
company now tells me that the government will actually lose revenue 
because the company will not be able to grow and create jobs that would 
produce more revenue than the estate tax will produce.

  This is an example of why it is so important we end this unfair tax. 
The death tax destroys intergenerational small businesses and family 
farms throughout the Nation owned by people who started with literally 
nothing and worked their entire life to build a successful company and 
jobs.
  So as we look at the estate tax and tax reform in the coming weeks, I 
hope my colleagues will remember the story of Rick Corman. These 
families and these businesses should not have to fear triple taxation 
from Washington just because someone passes away.
  Our bill immediately delivers relief from this tax, and I hope that 
we will pass a repeal of the estate tax to honor entrepreneurs, job 
creators, and philanthropists like Rick Corman.

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