Affordable Health Care

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE -- (House of Representatives - July 25, 2005)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, when I am back home in my district in Tennessee talking with a lot of small-business owners, which are the primary mode of employment in my district, there are a lot of things that always come up. I can always count on hearing about taxation, the need for deregulation, the effects of illegal immigration, and health care.

Increasingly I am hearing from these owners that they want Congress to open the way for more affordable health care choices. Last week in Roll Call there was a great article talking about association health plans, and I am glad to see some attention is on that idea, and that legislation is going to come before the House.

The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) really should be applauded for introducing the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005, which will help our small businesses purchase association health plans through national trade groups. I have joined him as a cosponsor of this important legislation because I believe we have a wonderful opportunity to extend affordable quality health care to millions of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans and this leadership are fighting to help the engine of economic growth in this country, our small businesses, helping them gain access to the sort of health care typically we only see provided by large corporations.

Small businesses feel like their employees are family members. They want the best for them. Every small-business owner knows that providing those employees with health care can be costly, and it can be a difficult part of running a business. Costs are rising, the paperwork never seems to end, and we have the power to help in this situation. We have the power to provide a vehicle for extending health care to millions of Americans. This does not require a big government program. It will not require spending billions of taxpayer dollars. It is common sense. It is providing an opportunity.

The Small Business Health Fairness Act has the potential to be very effective, to be pro-health care, to be a great effort for our communities across the Nation. The bill is going to reduce costs for entrepreneurs and their employees by letting small businesses band together to pool their purchase power, to work cooperatively and to dilute the risk to the insurers. It will lower premiums, and we believe it will give millions of uninsured Americans the access they want to quality health care.

We have debated this issue for years on end, and it is time for action. It is time to listen to America's small businesses and to their employees. I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) for his work on this. I want to thank the leadership for their efforts, and I ask all of my colleagues to strongly support this important effort.

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