[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 28029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      ABOLITION OF THE ESTATE TAX

  (Mr. GRIFFITH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask Congress and the 
administration to permanently eliminate a punitive tax that has plagued 
family farms and businesses for over 100 years. The estate tax only 
serves as a double taxation to those who have worked tirelessly to 
build their estates for themselves and their family. These 
entrepreneurs are not only working for themselves; they are working for 
their children and their grandchildren, and future generations of 
Americans.
  Building a small business from the ground up is the very fabric of 
the American dream, and the estate tax tears that fabric apart. This 
punitive tax inflicts great harm on the hardworking families of 
America. The estate tax costs small business owners thousands of hours 
in manpower and millions of dollars in legal counsel. It is time to 
eliminate the estate tax.
  Madam Speaker, I urge Congress to prioritize the quick and permanent 
abolition of the Federal estate tax in order to accelerate our economic 
recovery and foster a greater environment for business and rural 
development.

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