[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1595]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         SMALL BUSINESSES AND THE HIGH COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE

  (Mr. SARBANES asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, in the last few weeks, I have been going 
around my district visiting main streets and talking to small 
businesses, and they have been appreciative of the efforts we have made 
with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
  But they recognize something else, and that is, even if the economy 
begins to come back, and we hope that that's happening, they understand 
that as small businesses, they're still grappling with the high cost of 
purchasing health insurance coverage. In fact, if you look at the 45 
million Americans who currently lack insurance coverage in this 
country, about 28 million of them are employed by small businesses or 
are the proprietors of small businesses.
  That's why I'm glad that the President's health care proposal 
building on the ideas in this Chamber addresses this important 
grievance that small businesses have and is designed to give them more 
access to an affordable health insurance market. That is absolutely 
critical for their long-term economic stability.

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