The federal money promised for hurricane relief efforts along the Gulf Coast could force Capitol Hill Republicans to abandon some of their agenda items. And, repeal of the estate tax could be one of those agenda items on hold. The effort to permanently repeal the inheritance tax passed the U.S. House, by a wide margin, earlier this year. It now needs U.S. Senate approval before it becomes a reality. But, northeast Missouri Congressman Kenny Hulshof, the House sponsor of the legislation, says the money needed to fund hurricane relief has prompted the Senate to put the estate tax issue on the back burner. Hulshof says what we might end up with is something between full reinstatement of the tax and complete repeal – but it’s unclear when. As things stand now, the estate tax will be eliminated by the year 2010, but will return in 2011 unless Congress takes action.