House Fails on Estate Tax Veto Repeal

September 8, 2000

The House Thursday failed by 14 votes to override President Clinton’s veto of a measure that included repeal of estate taxes, an issue agricultural interests had promoted for months. The 274-157 vote was short of the two-thirds needed to overturn the veto. The White House had called the bill a break for a wealthy few that would suck too much money from the projected budget surplus.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reported that Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Clinton administration believes the GOP approach of passing individual tax cuts that rely on projected budget surpluses makes it impossible to determine the cuts' overall impact on the economy and on other budget priorities.

A major farm organization, the American Farm Bureau Federation, had said the House "must protect the future of America’s family farms and override President Clinton’s veto of the bill." The issue "carries a significant impact that will be realized far beyond our current generation of farmers and ranchers," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "The repeal of the death tax will allow the sons and daughters of today’s growers to carry on the family tradition of producing quality food for the United States and the world."

With a House override, all estate tax rates would have been reduced by about 15% over 10 years until the tax was completely eliminated in 2010. "Over 90% of U.S. farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations who continually improve their land and buildings with hopes of transferring a successful operation to their sons and daughters," Stallman said. "But when the government comes calling for the cold cash to pay off death taxes, family members are frequently forced to sell the farm, piece by piece."