[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H6656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SMALL BUSINESSES NEED HEALTH COVERAGE

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise to applaud the House for passing H.R. 
525, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005 yesterday, which 
will help provide better access to health care coverage for small 
businesses.
  Small businesses and self-employed citizens have long been an 
integral and valuable part of the American economy. We should assist in 
their growth and improvement in whatever ways we can.
  The primary achievement of this bill will be the establishment of 
certified Federal Association Health Plans, or AHPs. AHPs will increase 
small business bargaining power with health care providers and allow 
them to offer the kind of health care coverage that big business has 
long been able to provide.
  Second, AHPs will give employers freedom from costly State-mandated 
benefit packages. Taken together, these features of the new AHPs will 
enlarge the number of insured Americans up to 8 million people.
  As Republicans, we are working to increase the number of insured 
Americans, since as many as one in seven Americans is uninsured. 
Moreover, the most recent U.S. census statistics show that increases in 
the number of uninsured employees comes solely from declining coverage 
in the small business sector.
  The Small Business Health Fairness Act is a strong step in the right 
direction, and I am pleased to have passed it.

                          ____________________