The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on legislation providing for a long-term rollback of estate taxes, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Wednesday.
Hastert told reporters after a meeting of House Republicans that the estate tax measure would be combined with a bill extending a number of popular tax breaks for businesses, education and research.
The bill will go to the House for a vote before members begin a month-long break at the end of the week. That would set the measure up for Senate consideration ahead of the November congressional elections.
A phase-out of estate taxes were part of President Bush's 2001 tax cut. Without congressional action, total repeal of the estate tax would take effect in 2010, but only for that year. In 2011 the tax would be reimposed on estates over $1 million and the top rate would revert to 55 percent.
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Hastert, an Illinois Republican, did not provide details of the bill, but cutting estate taxes is a top priority for Republicans as lawmakers gear up for the elections in which Democrats hope to make their best gains in more than a decade.
The move follows repeated attempts by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to win a long-term rollback of estate taxes in the Senate where at least 60 votes are needed in the 100-member body to advance controversial legislation.
The Tennessee Republican had hoped to add it to a pension bill being considered by lawmakers this week, but House and Senate negotiators resisted the effort.
