mr. speaker , i rise in support of h.r. 8 , the death tax repeal permanency act , although the base bill does not address the estate tax in the manner i believe to be most prudent . 
in 2003 , congressman doug bereuter and i introduced the estate tax relief act , which would increase the estate tax exclusion to $ 10 million and lower the top rate to the level as the top income tax rate ( currently 35 percent ) . 
i think this is a much better solution than total repeal . 
because estate and gift taxes have had devastating effects on small businesses -- many of which are forced to liquidate assets simply to pay taxes ranging from 35 to 55 percent of the value of the business -- i think we need to provide significant relief in this area . 
my preference , however , is to reduce estate taxes without entirely eliminating them . 
in the last congress , i voted for today 's base bill because if it is not enacted the estate tax , which is being phased-out over a period between 2001 and 2010 , will return in 2011 with an exemption of just $ 675 , 000 and a top rate of 55 percent . 
while my first choice would be to significantly increase the exclusion and lower the top rate , i believe full repeal is preferable to the return of this onerous tax . 
