I want to thank all of the Family Enterprise USA and Policy and Taxation Group members that flew into Washington, DC to participate in our combined Board Meetings and Capitol Hill visits.
Having family business leaders join us on Capitol Hill as we explain the need for the elimination of the death tax – as well as our proposal for a rate reduction to help us get there – is invaluable.
The most effective lobbyist for your message is you, the business leader and constituent of the members of Congress.
And it’s not a one-way street.
One of the newest FEUSA members who had never lobbied before said the time and investment was well worth it.
He learned firsthand how our democratic system works, perfected his pitch to congressional members and their staff, and left with a great appreciation for the work our organizations do.
While our meetings were productive and we hope they will bear fruit soon especially in regards to the introduction of a rate reduction bill in the House, the feedback from those in attendance regarding our dinner guest was universal praise.
Representative Bill Huizenga (MI-2-R), a third generation sand and gravel pit business owner, was extremely engaging and genuine. His recent experience with the death tax with the recent passing of his mother gave him some firsthand knowledge on what other business owners will go thru.
And while he lamented the fact that his business interests didn’t hit the current exemption, he was interested in helping us any way he could including an Op-Ed about his experience and the need for full repeal!
After a six-week summer recess, Congress returned to Washington, DC with a full plate of work and a limited timetable to produce results.
In many ways, the next few months may be the last chance for this Congress to produce any real legislation until 2021. Lawmakers in both parties agree the partisan politics of the 2020 election will kick into high gear as soon as January, making any deal-making and compromise all the more difficult.
That doesn’t leave Congress much time as the House only has 13 legislative days in September before they leave for another two-week recess — and only 45 legislative days left in the year. Senators are scheduled to be in DC for only 53 days before the end of the year.
The immediate concern, of course, is to keep the government open as current funding ends on September 30. We expect the House and Senate will need more time to negotiate the appropriations funding bills and will approve a time extension to allow them to get this done without a shutdown.
Other significant items they might consider during this end of year window also includes tighter gun restrictions, the rewrite of NAFTA, and lower prescription drugs.
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From the President – 10-7 – Weekly Update
CAPITOL HILL HAPPENINGS
Wyden Unveils His Own Wealth Tax Targeting Investments: Senator Ron Wyden unveiled his own wealth tax on Thursday, taking a slightly different approach to targeting the same non-wage income as proposals from Democratic presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
The plan to tax some investments annually, rather than when they’re sold, would apply to taxpayers who earned at least $1 million or have assets worth $10 million for the previous three years. Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is seeking to require wealthy investors to pay the Internal Revenue Service every year on the amount their assets have appreciated, changing a longstanding feature of the tax code that taxes aren’t due until something is sold.
From the President – 10-7 – Weekly Update
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
 Bernie Sanders:
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders unveiled a climate change strategy on Thursday that would mobilize $16.3 trillion to help the U.S. generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and achieve “full decarbonization” by 2050.
The plan would “launch a decade of the Green New Deal,” a 10-year federal “mobilization” that would factor climate change into every policy action from immigration to foreign policy while promising to create 20 million jobs in the process.
The plan outlines dozens of policies aimed aggressively moving the United States off of fossil fuels in the electricity, transportation and building sectors, restoring U.S. leadership and financial aid under the Paris Climate Agreement and pouring trillions of dollars to assist fossil fuel workers and vulnerable minority communities in the transition to a green economy.
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STATE NEWS
California
California Proposal to Revive Estate and Gift Tax Fails to Advance:  S.B. 378 has potentially died in the Senate Rules committee as it has not yet advanced to the Senate floor for a vote. However, similar…
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WEEKEND READS
 OPINION — There is a lot to unpack when it comes to the Democratic presidential candidates’ many proposals to transform America, but the real question isn’t whether they will work. They won’t. It’s about how these Democrats expect to grow the economy to pay for their plans because simply “taxing the rich” won’t cut it.
“The Rich Can’t Get Richer Forever, Can They?” by Liaquat Ahamed in The New Yorker: “Inequality comes in waves. The question is when this one will break.”
“The Last of the Ayn Rand Acolytes,” by Alexander Sammon in TNR: “This year’s Objectivist Conference revealed that her cult of hyper-capitalism has a major recruiting problem: All the young people want to be socialists!”
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