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  unfortunately , due to outdated senate budget rules , the 2001 tax law will sunset on december 31 , 2010 .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 .  