i thank the gentleman from washington for yielding me this time .  mr. speaker , i rise today in strong support of the rule and the underlying legislation .  i am proud to be a cosponsor of h.r. 8 and thank the gentleman from missouri for his leadership in offering this bill .  i was proud to be in this chamber 4 years ago on the day congress began phasing out the death tax .  as a result , thousands of jobs were saved and second and third generations were able to take charge of their family 's business .  we knew when we passed that law the phaseout was not a permanent fix .  today we have the opportunity to complete unfinished business .  if we do not act now to permanently eliminate the death tax , it will be revived at the stroke of midnight on january 1 , 2011 .  bringing back the death tax will drive the final nail in the coffin for america 's next generation of small business owners .  the death tax repeal permanency act represents the changes to our tax code called for by our nation 's farmers and small business owners who want to pass their family business on to the next generation .  small business owners and farmers devote their time , energy and money into building a business so it can be passed on to their sons or daughters .  in the absence of the death tax , these small businesses become a legacy for one generation to pass on to the next .  with the death tax , families face a whopping tax bill on the property and assets even though taxes have already been paid annually by the owners .  the death tax is an overwhelming burden , forcing many families to sell their businesses just to pay the 37 to 55 percent tax .  as a result , jobs are lost and generations of family toil are plundered by the government .  permanently repealing the death tax will help small businesses create new jobs .  a 2002 study showed that an extra 100 , 000 jobs a year would be created if the death tax were permanently repealed .  the wall street journal wrote in 1999 that 60 percent of small businesses would add jobs if death taxes were not on the books .  the very threat of a revived death tax has a negative impact on small business .  even with the temporary phaseout , business owners must continue to plan for paying that tax .  to help owners hire new workers and continue to invest in their business , they need to know that the death tax is gone for good .  we must not allow this small business killer to rise from the dead .  the house today has an opportunity to rid the nation of this tax that kicks families when they are down , takes away a lifetime of hard work , and stifles job growth .  i hope that my colleagues will join me today in supporting the rule and the underlying legislation .  