mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me time . 
mr. speaker , i rise today in strong support of the pomeroy substitute to house resolution 8. and i argue that anyone in this body who is currently concerned about our ballooning national debt should vote in favor of the substitute . 
the pomeroy substitute is fair , and it covers those who need tax exemption now , america 's small businessmen and america 's farmers . 
it is clear from the debate today that the majority of members in this body believe that our farmers and small businessmen and -women need relief from the estate tax , and i will do all i can to ensure that these hardworking americans get their due tax relief . 
in my opinion , the pomeroy substitute does this by increasing the estate tax exemption level in 2006 by $ 3 million for individuals and $ 6 million for couples . 
additionally , from 2009 forward , the tax exemption level would be $ 3.5 & lt ; center & gt ; & lt ; pre & gt ; [ page : h1939 ] & lt ; /pre & gt ; & lt ; /center & gt ; i know my friends on the other side of the aisle desperately want to make sure that the paris hiltons of america are fully covered , but they have done pretty good the last 100 years ; and i am sure under the pomeroy bill in the future they will continue to do pretty good . 
additionally , the substitute bill eliminates the liability for tax on gains accrued before death . 
this is incredibly important to those children who may decide to sell the small farms and businesses they have just inherited . 
by using the stepped-up basis to calculate the value on an estate at a time of death , the substitute bill is actually making the tax code simpler and less cumbersome . 
it seems to me that this is important to us . 
it is important to the president , and it is important to many of us in congress . 
i will do all that i need to do in order to support estate tax relief for farmers and small business owners in my district . 
but would it not be a great message to send to the senate and to the american people by providing them with the estate tax relief they want and need without breaking the bank ? 
it seems to me that it is the fiscally conservative thing to do . 
i truly believe we have got to stop this liberal policy of borrowing and spending . 
to my friends on the right who believe that any estate tax is so vile that you took your polling advice and decided to start calling it the death tax , you should read leviticus 25 containing god 's message to moses that every 50 years , called the jubilee , all possessions must be returned to the original owners . 
i invite you to read that scripture . 
you had a chance in 2002 to increase the benefits by giving the tax relief to the estates of all americans . 
why did you not ? 
it clearly was not to keep the budget balanced . 
was it political ? 
every year around tax time and every 2 years around election time , you come back with permanent tax repeal . 
i think now is the time to do it . 
let us get it done . 
the pomeroy substitute bill is a bill we need to send to the senate . 
it is a fair bill . 
it is fiscally responsible . 
it should be the house 's bill . 
