[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 10199]]

                        DEATH TAX IS UNAMERICAN

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, William Shakespeare once 
wrote, ``For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come when we have 
shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause.''
  Hundreds of years before the death tax was even conceived, 
Shakespeare captured the worries felt by thousands of Americans, hoping 
to leave their life's work to their loved ones. Sadly, this dying wish 
often does not come true for those trying to leave a small business or 
family farm to their relatives. The death tax thwarts them at every 
turn, costing surviving relatives up to 60 percent of the business or 
property's worth.
  Mr. Speaker, this is blatantly wrong.
  Fortunately, today the House has an opportunity to right this 
injustice. Before us today is H.R. 8, the Death Tax Elimination Act. 
This common sense legislation challenges the IRS's assertion that grief 
also should be taxed. The death tax is un-American, and it deserves an 
appropriate burial.
  Vote in favor of H.R. 8.

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