After a lengthy break, DC’s political world begins anew tomorrow when Congress goes back into session. What’s on the agenda? Believe it or not, a vote in the Senate on repealing the estate tax.
Over the weekend, Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, asked, “How do you do tax cuts when your budget is straining to save lives?” It’s a fair question, but Foley’s fellow Republican lawmakers don’t seem to share his concerns.
Members of the Senate Finance Committee were notifed on Friday and Saturday that Bill Frist is planning to go ahead with a vote on the estate tax tomorrow. Harry Reid’s office emailed a statement that summarized the problem nicely.
“I am surprised at the Republican leadership’s insensitivity toward the events of the last week. With thousands presumed dead after Hurricane Katrina and families uprooted all along the Gulf Coast, giving tax breaks to millionaires should be the last thing on the Senate’s agenda. I understand that the Senate shouldn’t grind to a halt as a result of Hurricane Katrina, but there are issues that are of much greater importance both to the people directly affected by the hurricane as well as the nation as a whole than estate tax repeal.
“This shouldn’t even be a choice. Families have been torn apart and homes have been washed away in four states. These victims deserve the Senate’s time, not the handful of millionaires repealing the Estate Tax will affect. I once again urge Senator Frist to reconsider his decision.”
We’ll see if Frist can be persuaded, but when his office started calling Senate Finance Committee members, the devastation on the Gulf Coast was already clear — and he didn’t care. There are some mutli-millionaires out there and they need Congress’ help.
The irony is, Republicans have been hoping to put Senate Dems in a tough spot over a repeal of the estate tax. By holding the vote tomorrow, those same Republicans are making it easier for Dems to reject the effort. Indeed, they’re handing Dems a salient political cudgel.
Instead of running from this vote, or feeling embarrassed about voting against yet another tax cut for the very wealthy, Dems should be chomping at the bit on this one. The Gulf Coast has been ravaged, New Orleans is on fire, more Americans are displaced as a result of the devastation than at any time since the Civil War, the relief and rebuilding effort will take billions … and the very first thing Senate Republicans want to do upon returning to work is cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires.
Better yet, as Think Progress noted, the repeal will undercut the very institutions so many are relying on desperately right now: America’s charities.
One stands in awe of Sen. Frist’s timing. Permanently repealing the estate tax would be a major blow to the nation’s charities. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has “found that the estate tax encourages wealthy individuals to donate considerably more to charity, since estate tax liability is reduced through donations made both during life and at death.” If there were no estate tax in 2000, for example, “charitable donations would have been between $13 billion to $25 billion lower than they actually were.”
As they did after 9/11 and during the lead-up to the Iraq war, conservatives have placed tax cuts for the most wealthy and well-off over the spirit of shared national sacrifice. What a stark contrast to the outpouring of generosity being shown by the American people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
I realize a vote against a tax cut is generally not a political winner, but this one’s easy. The question now isn’t whether Dems will go along with this nonsense, but rather whether Senate Republicans are insane enough to go along with this nonsense. Reports today suggest at least one high-profile Republican sees the writing on the wall.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R – Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has stated that there is virtually no chance that the Senate will back a full repeal of the estate tax when the chamber reconvenes to address the issue once again after the summer recess. […]
“I would imagine we have 55 or 56 votes to repeal it, but it’s not going to get done,” commented Grassley, who went on to add that the chances of a permanent repeal of the tax are “zero”.
All things considered, Dems might as well hope Frist does bring this to the floor tomorrow.