mr. speaker , i rise in opposition to h.r. 8 , legislation that unwisely imperils our nation 's financial security in order to advance the interests of an elite few .  since my election to congress , i have consistently advocated for reasonable estate tax reform .  estate tax reform is extremely important for all the people in the 15th district of california .  high real estate values and generous stock option packages have pushed many estates over exemption limits .  as a result , too many of my santa clara county constituents have been burdened by an estate tax that was originally written to affect only the very wealthiest americans .  the estate tax needs to be modified to protect hardworking americans and their heirs .  in keeping with this spirit , i intend to support a democratic alternative to h.r. 8 that will benefit almost all americans .  offered by representative earl pomeroy , the democratic substitute will increase the estate tax exemption to $ 3 million for individuals and $ 6 million for married couples effective january 1 , 2006 with a scheduled increase in 2009 .  under this plan , 99.7 percent of all estates would have no estate tax liability .  the republican majority has put forward a more expensive plan to benefit the three-tenths of one percent not covered by the democratic substitute .  their plan comes at a significant cost .  once fully in effect , h.r. 8 will cost $ 1 trillion over 10 years .  this astronomical price tag will exacerbate record federal deficits and undermine our nation 's ability to strengthen key federal priorities , including social security , medicare , education programs and veterans health care .  h.r. 8 may also harm more taxpayers than it would help .  current income tax law provides for a `` step-up '' in the basis of an inherited asset to its fair market value at the time of decedent 's death .  when the heir sells the asset , the capital gain for income tax purposes is measured by the difference between the heir 's selling price and the stepped-up basis of the asset .  h.r. 8 repeals the step-up basis and substitutes carryover basis rules in which the capital gain would be measured by the difference between heir 's selling price and the asset 's cost at the time when the decedent acquired it .  as a result , all estates with gross assets over $ 1.3 million would face reporting requirements and tax liabilities potentially more burdensome than under current law .  while i am deeply concerned with the problems surrounding the estate tax , and believe that substantial , long-term reform is needed , permanent repeal for all estates is not necessary to resolve these issues .  given our nation 's challenges , i can not support the republican 's fiscally irresponsible approach to this issue .  i urge my colleagues to oppose h.r. 8 .  