[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17222]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           DEATH TAX OVERRIDE

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, death should not be taxed. Unfortunately, 
current law allows the IRS to do just that. When a person who owns a 
small business or a family farm passes away, the Government taxes up to 
55 percent of that business' worth.
  The death tax has meant the end to thousands of family-owned 
enterprises. In fact, this tax prevents nearly 85 percent of these 
organizations from being transferred from one generation to the next.
  Business owners who can afford high-price lawyers can sometimes avoid 
passing on this tax to their families, but average Americans often 
cannot. The American Dream should not be taxed. And yet in vetoing this 
legislation, the Clinton-Gore administration is doing just that.
  It is wrong for the Government to compound the shock of losing a 
family member with the devastation of losing one's livelihood. Now is 
the time to


right this injustice. Vote to override the Clinton-Gore veto of the 
death tax.

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