Washington, D.C. – Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) hosted an America Speaking Out event with the Yolo County Farm Bureau yesterday. After delivering opening remarks discussing what’s going on in Washington, Herger turned the discussion over to the farmers in attendance. During the hour long event, many issues were raised, including the need for tougher border security, the negative impact that ObamaCare will have on the United States, and the need to take action to repeal the estate tax, commonly referred to as the “Death Tax.” If Congress does nothing, death tax will return next year at 55% top rate. This will be especially devastating for North State agriculture because California land values are so high. Those in attendance shared their concerns that Washington has the country headed in the wrong direction and expressed their desire to see significant change in the size and scope of the federal government.

“As a small businessman and rancher, I share the concerns of North State farmers about the direction of our nation and I believe that we need serious change in the way Washington does business. The massive government expansion engineered by President Obama and Speaker Pelosi will damage America for years to come, burying our children and grandchildren under an ever growing mountain of debt. Our farmers, just like any other small business, are struggling to keep their heads above water because the federal government is doing more to them than for them. They are deeply concerned and with good reason.

“One of the chief concerns they raised was the unfair estate tax and the fear that they will not be able to keep their family farms in the family. I have firsthand experience with that – some of my family members were forced to sell their farm because of this double tax. Simply put, the estate tax is crippling to those looking to pass their farms on to their children. Failure to fully repeal the death tax flies in the face of what America is about and, in fact, is just a punishment for success. But unfortunately, it appears that the President and this Democratic Congress are content to allow this unfair tax to return because they need it to feed the beast of massive government spending. This is unacceptable and I will continue to fight to bring fiscal sanity and reason back to Washington.”

Click here for a photo from the event.