mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman very much for the time . 
mr. speaker , i rise in strong support of legislation to bury the destructive death tax once and for all ; and i might mention that my personal experiences , even with my own family and others , has been just the opposite of the gentleman who just spoke before . 
nearly everywhere i go throughout my largely rural , agricultural district in northern california , i hear from businessmen and businesswomen and many farmers and ranchers who have had to liquidate and sell a family business or farm just to pay the federal estate tax . 
this is simply wrong . 
four years ago , i joined with president bush and a majority of representatives and senators in an effort to enact into law historic tax relief legislation , including repeal of the death tax . 
unfortunately , due to outdated senate budget rules , the 2001 tax law will sunset on december 31 , 2010 . 
this has created an incredibly unfair and arbitrary situation . 
consider that the heirs of those who pass away in 2010 will face no death tax whatsoever , while those whose families are unfortunate enough to pass away in 2011 or thereafter will face tax rates of up to 55 percent on their assets , forcing many of them to have to sell . 
certainly no one can reasonably argue that this is rational tax policy . 
furthermore , the death tax extracts a high cost from american taxpayers . 
studies have found that family businesses spend up to $ 125 , 000 on attorneys , accountants and financial experts to assist in estate planning . 
these dollars could otherwise be used to modernize equipment , expand their business or farms and create new jobs . 
mr. speaker , the death tax is , without question , one of the most destructive , counterproductive and unfair provisions of our tax code . 
let us bury the death tax once and for all . 
vote `` aye '' on this legislation . 
