[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 112 (Friday, August 12, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              HEALTH CARE, SMALL BUSINESS, AND GRASS ROOTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Derrick] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. DERRICK. Madam Speaker, ever since health care reform became a 
serious possibility certain factions interested in killing the 
initiative have spread disinformation and alarmist propaganda vilifying 
the entire effort. They portray reform as a murky conspiracy to enslave 
the public, or a malicious attempt to destroy business, or a 
bureaucratic campaign to expand Government control over the people.
  The propaganda machines fired up by the defenders of the status quo 
have been working overtime. They've conducted an all out effort to 
convince the American people that they don't want health care reform. 
But reality will always belie propaganda, especially when the 
propaganda contradicts the people's experience.
  The American people want and need health care reform. Mass mailings, 
phone banks and rabid talk show hosts can't persaude them otherwise. 
Americans aren't impressed with arguments that reform will ruin the 
quality of their health care and cost them more money. Americans 
already know that every year they pay more for less health care. 
They've been watching what health care they could afford evaporate.
  If Congress lacks the courage to reform the health care system now, 
the situation will continue to deteriorate, more Americans will lose 
their coverage, and the blame will be ours.
  Americans know the system needs reform to remedy the problems they 
face every day. Seventy-eight percent of Americans favor universal 
coverage, and 75 percent even favor employers sharing responsibility 
with their employees to pay for health insurance. Well-funded lobbying 
groups such as the NFIB aim their rhetoric at small businesses, telling 
them that reform is a job-killer that will close them down. The truth 
is that small business will benefit greatly from reform. As it stands 
they pay up to 50 percent more for the health insurance than large 
firms. A third of them see their insurance premiums rise by 25 percent 
every year, and the burden of covering the growing numbers of uninsured 
Americans is getting shifted onto their shoulders. The status quo hurts 
small business.
  Wednesday a group of small business owners from Virginia, 
Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington, DC, took time away from their 
businesses to come to the Capitol and voice their support for health 
care reform. They know that reform will level the playing field for 
small businesses. It will lower their overhead tied up in health care 
costs, making it easier and cheaper to operate. These businessmen and 
women are members of the Small Business Coalition for Health Care 
Reform, a grass roots organization representing 626,000 businesses 
employing 5.5 million people. Unlike the NFIB, a well-funded lobbying 
group representing big-money interests, the Small Business Coalition 
supports reform.
  Where groups such as NFIB are trying to kill reform and preserve the 
status quo beloved by their funders, the Small Business Coalition knows 
how much small business has to gain from reform. Their members, the 
small business grass roots, agree.
  It's important to remember that grass roots organizations found the 
support for health care reform. Reform won't benefit a particular 
special interest, unless you define America as a special interest. 
Small businesses will gain from reform, but the focus of reform is the 
mass of employed, hard working, middle-income Americans who, despite 
their labors, still can't afford health care for themselves or their 
families. Anti-reform propaganda tries to convince people that reform 
will limit their options or degrade the quality of their health care.
  That's not much of an argument for people who can't afford any health 
care or insurance at all. If anything, by guaranteeing coverage and 
insurance that can't be taken away, health care reform expands the 
average American's health care options.
  Americans know it, and they overwhelmingly support reform. You can 
see the support by looking at the growing number of grass-roots 
organizations representing millions of Americans who have declared 
their support for the Guaranteed Health Insurance Act. They include 
labor unions, consumer advocacy groups, medical providers, health 
advocacy groups, teachers, education groups, family advocates, senior 
citizen groups, farmers, veterans and children's advocates.
  In short, there are myriad organizations who know that their members 
can only benefit from health care reform. Members of Congress shouldn't 
confuse these voices with mere special interests. The voice they hear 
expresses America's will, and the will is for health care reform.

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