13 Democrats, 1 Republican reverse vote to sustain ‘Death Tax’

CSE applauds the bi-partisan attempt by the U.S. House of Representatives to override the Clinton-Gore veto of the Death Tax Elimination Act, which fell 14 votes short of overriding President Clinton’s veto. Fourteen Democrats reversed their previous vote to end the estate tax and voted yesterday against saving Americans from this unfair tax.

As shown by the veto, the Clinton-Gore administration is paying lip service to tax cuts that they promised American families during their 1992 and 1996 campaigns. But, as their track record shows, when given the opportunity to sign a tax cut into law, the Clinton/Gore admionistration give us nothing more than excuses and empty rhetoric.

The American people believe this tax is unfair and contrary to family entrepreneurship. The truth is that this punitive tax doesn’t even provide 2 percent of the total federal tax revenue but it does take away opportunities for further job creation and investment options and stifles our investor-based economy. The Death Tax hits minority-owned businesses the hardest while benefiting accountants and lawyers who get rich helping people arrange their estates to avoid the IRS agents hired to collect death taxes.

Al Gore says he will fight for the people and against the powerful, but he and Clinton have vetoed tax relief for the American people.

The 14 Democrats who reversed their vote yesterday are:

Joe Baca (D-CA)

Doug Bereuter (R-NE);

Allen Boyd (D-FL);

Peter Deutsch (D-FL);

Anna Eshoo (D-CA);

Sam Farr (D-CA);

Tom Lantos (D-CA);

Zoe Lofgren (D-CA);

Michael McNulty (D-NY);

Jim Moran (D-VA);

Bill Pascrell (D-NJ);

Mark Udall (D-CO);

Nydia Velazquez (D-NY);

and

Albert Wynn (D-MD)

To learn more about the “Death Tax,” go to http://www.cse.org/informed/734.html