mr. speaker , i yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from washington ( miss mcmorris ) , a newly elected member from the state of washington .  miss mcmorris .  mr. speaker , i appreciate the opportunity to address the house today on this very important piece of legislation , the repeal of the death tax and making it permanent .  the repeal of the death tax is one of the first bills that i was honored to place my name on as a cosponsor .  growing up on a family farm in eastern washington , i have seen firsthand the negative impacts the death tax has on our families and our businesses .  one of my top priorities in congress is to grow jobs and expand the economy in the pacific northwest .  i believe that the repeal of the death tax will help accomplish this goal , especially for the farmers and small businesses in my district .  the death tax costs thousands of jobs each year ; and by repealing this unnecessary tax , jobs will be created and many small business owners will be able to add workers to their payrolls .  as a member who represents a significant farming sector , i have seen the death tax destroy some family farms .  without a doubt , death taxes hurt our farmers and our ranchers by forcing family farms to sell land , buildings or equipment needed to operate their business in order to pay for this excessive tax .  some family farmers have had to take out a second mortgage on their home to pay for the tax .  when farms and ranches shut down , so do the businesses they support , leaving many out of work and leading to a depressed rural economy .  the time is now to end the death tax .  i support the passage of h.r. 8 in order to end this unjust , unfair , and inefficient tax burden on our families , businesses and especially our farming communities .  