ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (December 7, 2017) Today, 60 Plus Association Founder and Chairman Jim Martin applauded House members that signed a letter supporting House Leadership’s efforts to kill the death tax in conference committee. Congressmen Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN) led the charge which gained 57 signatures, with more signing on daily, a full 1/4 of the House Republican conference.
In response to the letter Martin said: “60 Plus is issuing press releases across several states and within Districts thanking signers for their insistence on not accepting the Senate’s non-repeal policy. The votes are clearly there in both Houses to repeal the death tax and Senate leaders need to push harder. It is better to reassure a few Senate members than to cave and potentially spoil the entire deal with House conservatives. We heartily applaud Warren Davidson, Jim Banks, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) and others for making this issue a priority in conference. Death tax repeal advocates are not going quietly into the night. We plan to engage our 7 million seniors to support Congresswoman Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Senator John Thune, also (R-SD) as they seek to repeal the death tax in conference committee.
“I am calling on all Senate Conferees, but specifically Senator Thune, Senator Tim Scott, (R-SC) Senator Mike Enzi, (R-WY) and their other Senate conferees to make death tax repeal a common sense priority. If Congress is truly redesigning and reforming the tax code, death should be removed as a taxable event. There is nothing predicable about death and nothing certain about death tax relief that expires.
“Sen. Thune and Rep. Noem are both lead sponsors of the Death Tax Repeal Act which has 37 cosponsors and still growing in the Senate and over 100 cosponsors in the House. (In previous Congresses, Rep. Kevin Brady’s (R-TX) repeal bill attracted well over 200 cosponsors). The state of South Dakota and seniors, farmers, ranchers, and small businesses across the country are counting on them to build consensus for death tax repeal.
“The 60 Plus Association is launching a red alert initiative urging its 7 million seniors to contact their officials and local papers about the need to repeal the death tax. Our national spokesman, legendary entertainer Pat Boone, has volunteered to make calls to seniors and speak to the national media in order to help push Senate leadership back to where the President, House of Representatives and 76% of the public stands,” Martin concluded.
