mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. speaker , the gentleman just indicated that the pomeroy substitute solves the problem once and for all , and i have listened to a number of individuals on the other side during the course of this discussion that this is only going to affect the superwealthy and that really there are no family businesses that are affected by the estate tax . 
it has been interesting , because some of those comments have come from colleagues of mine on the committee on ways and means . 
mr. speaker , we have had a number of hearings going back to at least , from my memory , 1997 . 
so i will mention some of these folks who have come and testified in front of the committee on ways and means . 
martin whalen testified about his family-owned and -operated company , etline foods corporation , a distributor of food service products in york , pennsylvania . 
when they purchased the business , 48 employees ; in 1997 , 105 employees . 
rhetorically , i would say to my friend from north dakota , will this solve their problem ? 
wayne nelson , a farmer from winner , south dakota . 
his father farmed until his father 's death in 1993 . 
their estate planning was inadequate . 
several parcels of land in south dakota were liquidated in order to pay the federal tax . 
will the substitute rectify that situation ? 
what about roger hannay of hannay reels , incorporated , a small manufacturer in the foothills of the catskill mountains about 25 miles from albany , new york , a small manufacturer employing 150 employees ? 
what about richard forrestal , jr. , a principal in cold spring construction , a firm specializing in highway and bridge construction ? 
what about douglas stinson , a tree farmer from toledo , washington , that runs the cowlitz ridge tree farm ? 
each of these testified , mr. speaker , that they were impacted negatively by the existence of the death tax . 
what about carol loop , jr. , president of luke 's nursery and greenhouses , a wholesale plant nursery operation in jacksonville , florida ? 
he started his business with a $ 1 , 500 loan and a borrowed truck . 
would the problem be solved with the pomeroy substitute ? 
or christopher and kimberly clements of golden eagle distributors in tucson , arizona . 
they lost their father unexpectedly after a valiant bout with cancer . 
he lost his life at the age of 58 . 
or jeannine mizell , a third-generation owner of mizell lumber and hardware company of kensington , maryland . 
what about robert sakata , a vegetable farmer from brighton , colorado , or jean stinson , a railroad track manufacturing company in barto , florida , running the r. w. summers railroad contractors ? 
their family had to shut down a facility in north carolina , laying off two-thirds of the 110 employees to pay the estate tax . 
or jack cakebread , founder of cakebread cellars in napa valley , california . 
would each of these individuals be solved or their estate problems solved by the substitute ? 
it is a rhetorical question , and the gentleman from north dakota ( mr. pomeroy ) xz4003230 knows it , and i do not mean to put him on the spot , but he can not answer the question because when we draw a line , an arbitrary line , wherever we draw that line , we still are going to have those entrepreneurs that have been willing to invest in their businesses , hire employees , build local communities ; and as long as the death tax remains in existence , they are going to have to do some sort of estate planning . 
i think it is much the better course to completely and finally permanently repeal the tax . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
