Waiving Requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII with Respect to Consideration of certain resolutions

WAIVING REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS -- (House of Representatives - July 28, 2006)

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this bill is a sham concealing an insult hiding a hypocrisy. It is a sham legislative process to bring a bill of thousands of pages, which has yet to be distributed to any of us, for a midnight vote.

It is an insult to turn to the hardworking people working for $5.15 an hour and tell them that, first, you will get a little bit more, but it still will be less purchasing power than you had decades ago. But second, you will get it only if it is tied to relief for those who pay the estate tax.

You know, people have misnamed the estate tax the death tax. It is really and literally the millionaire's tax. The tax falls only on those who are heirs. It reduces the amount they will inherit, and only on those who are heirs to estates of over $7 million a family.

We Democrats have proposed that we permanently lift the estate tax on all families on the first $7 million. That would cost about $22 billion a year.

This bill has provisions virtually abolishing the millionaire's tax and, therefore, will cost this country, when fully phased in, $66 billion a year.

So a few quarters an hour to those who are earning the minimum wage, and $44 billion a year to those who are heirs of estates above $7 million a family.

That would be an insult. But don't worry about it, because it is shrouded in a hypocrisy. You see, this bill isn't designed to go anywhere. It is designed to come to the floor, we vote on it at midnight, then the Senate won't pass it.

If you have voted against raising the minimum wage a dozen times, as most of the Republicans in this House have, don't think you can get well by voting for this bill.

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