While all eyes were on the farm bill in the House last week, Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) re-introduced legislation to permanently repeal the federal estate tax, better known as the death tax.

“We don’t think death should be a taxable event,” said Thune, Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and member of the Senate Finance Committee. “We think you ought to give family farmers and ranchers and small business people those who work hard to build up that over a lifetime, the opportunity to pass that on to the next generation.”

“Can you imagine, you work your whole life to build up a next egg, to build up a family owned farm or business and when you die Uncle Sam swoops in and takes nearly half of everything you worked your life to save for,” asked Brady, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and a senior member of the House Ways & Means Committee. “The Death Tax remains the number one reason family owned farms and businesses don’t survive to the next generation and it’s time to end this immoral tax once and for all in America.”

Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) told her personal story of how the death tax affected her family farming operation when her father was killed in a farm accident when she was just 21 years old. “I was shocked when I got a bill from the federal government that said because a tragedy happened to my family, I now owed them thousands of dollars,” she said. “For ten years I paid on a loan to pay the federal government what I owed them and it made it very difficult for our family business to survive. It made me angry and actually it’s the reason I ran for office.”

Former National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Steve Fogelsong of Illinois says he is a first generation rancher whose children have helped pay to build up the family operation. “And then when I kick the bucket, they’re going to get to do it all over again and pay for that – that doesn’t make any sense,” he said, adding that “farmers and ranchers aren’t a very bright bunch” because instead of taking vacations in Cancun or buying luxury cars they take the money they make and “plow it right back into that dirt.”

The video of last week’s press conference is below and here is a partial audio file with the opening statements of the members of Congress – Thune, Brady, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Noem, and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – with Steve’s remarks at the end. 6/19/13 Death Tax Press Conference