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McConnell Calls for Permanent Elimination of Death Tax

‘The thought of having to visit the IRS and the undertaker on the same day is an absolute outrage.’

June 19, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell joined Senator John Thune (R-SD) in introducing the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2013, which would permanently abolish the federal death tax.  In addition, the Thune/McConnell legislation sets a lifetime gift tax exemption of up to $5 million, and makes permanent a 35 percent gift tax rate for gifts made over that amount (indexed to inflation). 

During a press conference on Capitol Hill today, Senator McConnell said the death tax is the federal government’s final insult to American taxpayers and it needs to be repealed.

“The death tax unduly burdens American families by taxing assets that are handed down from generation to generation, like family farms or small family businesses,” Senator McConnell said. “It is the federal government’s final insult to tax the transfer of your accumulated assets when you have already paid taxes on such assets throughout your life. The thought of having to visit the IRS and the undertaker on the same day is an absolute outrage. This is wrong and it’s why I have consistently supported legislation to eliminate this burdensome tax.”

Between 2009 and 2011, Kentuckians paid more than $225 million in death taxes. Senator McConnell has heard stories from many constituents regarding the impact the death tax is having on them and their families.  In fact, one Kentuckian said it would destroy his family farming operation. And another said she worked hard over the years to invest in property -- land she owns and inherited -- but when she dies, her children would be forced to sell it just to pay the death tax.

Last year, during the fiscal cliff debate, Senator McConnell negotiated with the Vice President to establish a permanent reduction in the death tax to provide Americans the ability to pass their life’s work down to the next generation. Without this change, family farms and small businesses valued at $1 million or more would have been taxed at 55 percent starting in 2013.

“We have made some progress exempting many of Kentucky's family farms and small businesses from the death tax,” Senator McConnell said. “And I’m proud to join Senator Thune in introducing this repeal bill that will finish the job by abolishing, once and for all, this unfair, anti-American tax.” 

President, Congressional Dems Need to Explain Obamacare Consequences

June 19, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the need for the President and Senate Democrats to explain the consequences of Obamacare to the American people instead of spending millions on a campaign-style P.R. blitz:

“Last year, President Obama was asked about the lessons he had learned from his first term. Instead of focusing on errors in judgment or policy, he seemed to indicate that he really just needed to do a better job of telling ‘a story to the American people.’

“In other words, the policy was fine. And if Americans didn’t get it, it’s because they had a listening problem.

“Well, that’s an attitude that has really come to define the Administration. And that’s why folks will be rallying on the Capitol grounds today. They, like a growing number of Americans, are losing faith in government – they think it’s working against them, not for them.

“For good reason. Take Obamacare. This law has been pretty unpopular for several years now. And it’s not like the American people haven’t been exposed – probably overexposed – to the arguments on both sides of the issue.

“Obamacare must have been discussed hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of times over the past few years. That includes political debates. More speeches than any of us care to count. Issue ads, both pro and con. And guess what? Americans still don’t like the idea of Obamacare. Not because they’re unable to understand, or because they just haven’t ‘seen the right messaging.’

“It’s because most of them like their health plan and want to keep it. It’s because they don’t want to pay more to the health insurance companies. And it’s because they just don’t think the law is going to work as promised. And yet, the Washington Democrats’ explanation for Obamacare’s enduring unpopularity still seems to be that the law is just too complicated for their constituents to understand. And the Washington Democrat solution seems to be not to actually change the policy, but to spend millions in a campaign-style P.R. blitz.

“News flash: If you still don’t think Americans are able to understand a law you passed more than three years ago, then there’s something wrong with your law – not with the American people.

“Instead of going around the country trying to convince Americans why they’re wrong, the Administration could actually listen for a change. I think they should start over on health care and embrace the types of common-sense, step-by-step reforms that would actually lower costs.  But I won’t hold my breath for that.

“So, at a minimum, they at least need to do this: the President, members of his Cabinet, and the Congressional Democrats who voted for this law need to get out and explain to Americans what’s headed their way. Not feed them the sunny picture painted in the Obamacare ads that the President’s campaign team is running, but actually explain the reality of the situation to them.

“For instance, Americans need to know about the coming wave of premium hikes. We’ve already seen projected double-digit increases in some states. They need to know we’re likely to see even more Americans lose the health care they want to keep, just like the thousands of Californians who will probably have to look for new plans after Aetna pulled out of the individual market in their state – likely because of Obamacare. And they need to know that they could lose their jobs, or see their hours cut, or struggle to find work in the first place. In fact, a recent survey showed that about 70 percent of small businesses say the law will make it harder to hire.

“Americans need to know all of these things, because they need to prepare for them. And it’s supremely unhelpful when the President claims that those who already have health care won’t see changes, as he did a few weeks ago. He knows that’s not what many experts are saying. And he owes it to the country to be frank about that.

“So it’s time to get off the campaign trail. Call off the P.R. spinmeisters. Put down the communications plan. It’s time to level with the American people.”

Will He Keep His Word and Oppose the Nuclear Option?

June 18, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding an effort by the Democratic Majority to alter the rules of the Senate, further marginalizing the minority party in the Senate and the constituents they represent:

“Day after day, I’ve been coming to the floor to remind the Majority Leader of the commitments he made to the American people in 2011 and again just a few months ago – that he would not break the rules of the Senate in order to change the rules of the Senate.

“That he would preserve the rights of the minority in this body. That he would not try to remake the Senate in the image of the House – something that could change our democracy in a fundamental way. And so, the question remains: will he keep his word?

“Here’s what he said on January 27, 2011:

‘I will oppose any effort in this Congress or the next to change the Senate’s rules other than through the regular order.’

“And here’s what he said this year, after I asked him to confirm that the Senate would not consider any rules changes that did not go through the regular order process:

‘That is correct. Any other resolutions related to Senate procedure would be subject to a regular order process including consideration by the Rules Committee.’

“Look: a Senator’s word – especially the word of the Majority Leader – is the currency of the realm here in this chamber. As he said himself:

‘Your word is your bond…if you tell [a Republican Senator or a Democratic Senator] you are going to do something, that is the way it is.’

“He is correct. Senators keeping their word – well, that’s just vital to a well-functioning Senate. But it’s only part of the equation.

“We also need well-established rules that are clear, fair, and preserve the rights of all Senators – including those in the minority – to represent the views of their states and of their constituents.

“That’s the other reason why I’ve been pressing the Majority Leader on this issue. As a matter of principle, holding a Senator to his or her word is important. But so is preserving a Senate that works the way it’s supposed to – and we can’t be assured of that until the Majority Leader affirmatively states that he will stay true to the commitments he made.

“Now, I understand my friend the Majority Leader is under a lot of pressure. I’ve known him for a long time and, deep down, I know he understands the far-reaching consequences of ‘going nuclear.’ I think he actually realizes how terrible an idea that would be. Because once the Senate definitively breaks the rules to change the rules, the pressure to respond in kind will be irresistible to future majorities. The precedent will have been firmly and dramatically set.

“Some Washington Democrats say they just want to change the rules as they relate to nominations, which is why they’ve been hurtling the Senate toward a manufactured fight over a couple of the President’s most controversial nominees. But Republicans have been treating the President’s nominees more than fairly. At this point in President Bush’s second term, he had a total of 10 judicial confirmations. So far in his second term, President Obama has had 26 judicial nominations confirmed. That’s right: 26 to 10.

“And I’d note that, just yesterday, the Senate approved two of those judicial nominees. That leaves just five available to the full Senate to be considered.

“Think about that. Of the 77 federal judicial vacancies, the President hasn’t nominated anyone for most of them and only five remain on the Senate’s executive calendar. Moreover, only one of those nominees has been waiting more than a month to be considered.

“So it’s hard to see this as anything other than pretext for a manufactured crisis. The question is, a crisis to what end?

“Well, one of the reasons the Majority Leader has refrained from changing the rules thus far is this: he understands that majorities are fleeting, but changes to the rules are not. And breaking the rules to change the rules would fundamentally change this Senate.

“Future majorities would look to this precedent. And once deployed, the nuclear option may have fallout in future Congresses, forever altering the deliberative nature of the Senate which has made it the institution where enduring compromises between the parties have been forged.”

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