[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25238]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                     HEALTH CARE AND SMALL BUSINESS

  (Mr. GUTHRIE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, we can all agree that health care needs to 
be made more affordable and accessible. However, under the proposed 
House bill, those who are working to get our economy back on track will 
be burdened with financing the government takeover of health care.
  Some in Congress want to enact a $544 billion surtax to help pay for 
the legislation. However, according to the data from the IRS, more than 
half of those targeted under the surtax are small business owners.
  Small businesses have historically employed more than half of the 
U.S. workforce and have created more than 72 percent of the new jobs 
across the country. With unemployment climbing to record numbers and 
the Federal deficit reaching $1.4 trillion, Congress simply can't keep 
ignoring these issues.
  Prior to being elected to Congress this year, I was working for my 
family's small business and know how important small businesses are not 
only to local communities but to our national economy as well.
  Imposing taxes on small businesses that are doing all they can to 
stay afloat is not a viable answer and could make job losses even 
worse.

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