[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

  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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