    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [June 9, 2000]
    [Page 1113]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on House of Representatives Action on Estate Tax Legislation
    June 9, 2000

        The House has jeopardized our fiscal discipline by passing a costly,
    irresponsible, and regressive plan to eliminate the estate tax. If this
    bill were presented to me in its current form, I would veto it without
    hesitation.
        Repealing the estate tax would undermine our record of fiscal
    discipline as well as the progressivity, fairness, and integrity of the
    tax system. The cost of this bill explodes from $100 billion this decade
    to over $750 billion in the following decade, just as the baby boom
    generation is retiring and Medicare and Social Security are coming under
    strain. This bill gives the largest estates a windfall while steering
    only a tiny fraction of the benefits to small businesses and family
    farms. By the end of the decade, the bill would provide a $50 billion
    tax break that would provide only 54,000 estates--about 2 percent of all
    decedents--with an average tax cut of $800,000. Furthermore, studies by
    economists have found that repealing the estate tax would reduce
    charitable donations by $5 billion to $6 billion per year.
        I am supportive of targeted, fiscally responsible legislation, such
    as the Democratic alternative, to make the estate tax fairer, simpler,
    and more efficient. I urge the congressional leadership to work with me
    to relieve the burden of estate taxes for small businesses and family
    farms in a fiscally responsible manner this year. We can do this while
    strengthening Social Security and Medicare, investing in key priorities,
    and paying down the debt by 2013.