[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17136]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                               ESTATE TAX

  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, when I was a young lad, I grew up 
successively in two different farming villages. One had 800 occupants. 
Another had 200. And I became acquainted with the work of the farmers. 
They work very, very hard. They struggle to build their farms. They 
reinvest in their farms. And when they die, they want to leave it to 
their children.
  But unfortunately, because of something called the death tax, 
established in order to finance World War I, they frequently are not 
able to leave that farm to their children.
  The death tax can be as high as 55 or 60 percent. They simply cannot 
afford to pay the tax in order to keep the farm. They do not have the 
cash. Their money is tied up in the land.
  We passed a bill in the House and the Senate to get rid of the death 
tax. The President vetoed that plan. He and the Democrats in this 
Chamber argue that this is a tax cut for the rich. They should go talk 
to some farmers. They will find out they are not rich. Their money is 
tied up in the land. It is not in their wallets.
  I urge that we override the President's veto and make things right 
for these people.
  The rich escape the estate tax. They have attorneys who show them all 
the ways to get rid of it. The farmers cannot afford to hire those 
attorneys.
  I urge an override of the veto.

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