On August 31, President Clinton vetoed legislation to repeal the federal estate and gift tax.

I disagree with the President's decision, which is why I voted to override his veto of H.R. 8, the Death Tax Elimination Act. Unfortunately, the final bipartisan vote of 274 to 157 was short of the two-thirds required by the Constitution.

Introduced by Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn of Washington, H.R. 8 phases out the estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes. It also makes a number of simplifying changes to the generation-skipping tax prior to its repeal.

I support repealing the estate and gift taxes, which have had devastating effects on small businesses and farms. Nearly 80 percent of failed family businesses enter bankruptcy following the unexpected death of the founder, oftentimes because the heirs are forced to liquidate or break up the business to pay the estate taxes. These taxes can range from 35 to 55 percent of the present value of the business.

Given the broad support for this legislation in the House, I am hopeful we can repeal the estate tax in the future.

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