[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 79 (Tuesday, June 21, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        EMPLOYER MANDATE WOULD HARM WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES

  (Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member of the 
Small Business Committee, I am concerned about the harm we will inflict 
on the 6.5 million women-owned small businesses if we endorse President 
Clinton's employer mandate as a part of health care reform. Women 
collectively employ more people in the United States than the Fortune 
500 companies employ worldwide.
  The employer mandate in President Clinton's health care proposal 
would cause 52 percent of small businesses which are too small or new 
to offer health insurance, to pay from $1,000 to $2,500 per worker. 
Eight studies now conclude that we will kill between 600,000 to 2.6 
million jobs with this mandate.
  Small businesses do not want to dodge their responsibility; they want 
to grow into larger, stronger businesses that can afford to offer their 
employees good health care benefits. Frankly, I am amazed that White 
House officials believe that small businesses are getting off easy--
there is nothing easy in the personal and financial risks these women 
take everyday.
  We should assist our small women-owned businesses, not burden them 
with further mandates.

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