[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13648]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, today the Senate will be in a period of 
morning business until 10:15. Following morning business, a cloture 
vote will occur on the motion to proceed to H.R. 8, the Death Tax 
Elimination Act.


                                  vote

  I ask unanimous consent that the vote occur at 10:15 this morning.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. If cloture is invoked, the Senate will continue postcloture 
debate on the motion to proceed. The Senate may also resume 
consideration of the Interior appropriations bill in an effort to make 
further progress on that important piece of legislation. It is the 
intention of the managers of the Interior appropriations bill to lock 
up a filing deadline for first-degree amendments during today's 
session.
  Senators should expect votes each day this week. Also, we will have 
late nights to have debate on amendments on the Defense authorization 
bill with votes on amendments, if necessary, occurring the following 
morning. I have been assured by the managers of that legislation, 
Senator Warner and Senator Levin, that we will be working tonight and 
we probably will have some votes the first thing in the morning on the 
bill.
  I regret that we have to have a vote on the motion to proceed. A good 
faith effort has been made to work out an agreement on a limited number 
of amendments, but we have not been able to come to an agreement on 
that.
  It is important that we get to the substance of this legislation--the 
elimination of the death tax. It is high time we take action on this 
unfortunate tax provision that has been on the tax rolls since Theodore 
Roosevelt was President. I know from personal experience that it is 
having a very devastating effect on small businesses, family farms, and 
homesteads. I have come across members of families in tears in my own 
State on finding they had to sell their small business or their farm 
that has been in the family sometimes for two or three generations 
because they had to pay this most unfair death tax.
  Many commentators seem perplexed, trying to understand why this 
legislation would have received such overwhelming support in the House 
of Representatives with an almost unanimous vote among the Republicans 
and 65 Democrats, from all regions, backgrounds, races, sex, and 
everything else. They can't understand why it got this very outstanding 
vote.
  The answer is really very simple. First of all, all of us would like 
to be able to have an estate of some value when we reach the end of our 
role. We would like to be able to pass it on to our children for the 
next generation. The idea that the Federal Government would come and 
reach into the grave and pull back 40, 45, 50, or 55 percent of a 
life's work offends the American people regardless of financial status. 
It is a basically and patently unfair tax provision.
  I am pleased we are going to move forward this week to get a vote. Of 
course, we will have to have a vote on cloture so that there won't be 
an extended series of unrelated, nongermane amendments or filibusters. 
But I hope we will get that vote. Then we will get to final vote on the 
substance. It is long overdue.
  I commend the chairman of the committee, Chairman Roth, and the 
ranking member, Senator Moynihan, for allowing this legislation to come 
to the floor today for a vote. Also, again I must express my admiration 
for the way the House handled this matter.
  I understand there will be a period for morning business. Senators 
are here prepared to speak on the substance of the legislation.
  I yield the floor.

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