[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 23, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, we must seriously begin to address the 
problem of the Nation's uninsured and the skyrocketing price of health 
insurance.
  Unfortunately, the plan the President is expected to outline tonight 
will do nothing to cut down on the number of uninsured because a tax 
deduction simply is not going to be enough to make insurance affordable 
to low and middle-income workers. In most cases, individual health 
plans are more expensive to purchase and provide considerably less 
coverage, but the Bush administration is under the false impression 
that their tax deduction will provide enough of an incentive for 
uninsured workers to sign up.
  At the same time, the Bush administration falsely believes they can 
begin to target the cost of health care premiums by taxing employee-
based health benefits. This is nothing more than a tax increase on 
middle-class workers who have been lucky enough to secure good benefits 
through their job. Quality health benefits provided by employers should 
be the norm; and as policymakers, we should not discourage it.
  The President's proposal is a non-starter for me, Madam Speaker. But 
I am hopeful that I can work with the Bush administration to begin to 
solve some of our health care problems.

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