The estate tax, one of the most progressive tax policies in America, only currently affects the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Yet contrary to personal self interest, many members of Congress are not basing their position on the issue on their own pocketbooks. In his recent article in Tax Notes, Martin Sullivan made the ironic observation that on average, the more wealthy members of Congress, many of whom would be substantially taxed under the estate tax, are fighting the Bush administration’s attempts at repeal.

The FY 2006 federal budge, scheduled to be released in February 2005, is important now because federal agencies are already making decisions prior to submitting their individual budgets to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in September. The Bush administration has proposed cutting the budget deficit in half over the next five years, while John Kerry has proposed that he will do the same in four years. Because neither presidential candidate seems willing to cut funds from the Defense or Homeland Security programs, there is going to be considerable pressure for them to cut non-defense discretionary spending.