    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [February 3, 1996]
    [Pages 149-151]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    February 3, 1996

        Good morning. I would like to talk to you this morning about how we
    can meet one of the challenges I outlined in my State of the Union
    Address: providing greater economic security to Americans who work hard,
    and especially how we can ensure that those Americans have access to
    health care, because millions and millions of working Americans and
    their families don't have access to health care.
        There can be no doubt that we do live in an age of great
    possibility, a time of exploding technology and information, a time that
    will enable more Americans than ever before to fulfill their dreams. But
    this new economy, with so

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    much opportunity, also has very stiff challenges, as most Americans
    know. Our news is not all good. While this new economy has produced a
    record number of new businesses in each of the last 3 years and nearly 8
    million new jobs, too many of our fellow citizens are still working
    harder and harder just to keep up. They are rightly concerned about the
    security of their families. They are worried about job security. They
    are worried about never seeming to get a raise. They are worried about
    access to education, the security of their pensions, and access to
    health care.
        Our challenge is to make sure that all Americans can be winners in
    this time of change. How are we going to do it? First, we have to keep
    our economy growing. That's one reason we should balance the budget: It
    will keep interest rates coming down, bringing in more investments,
    generating more jobs. After many weeks of negotiations, the Republicans
    and I already have agreed on more than enough cuts that are common to
    each of our plans to balance the budget in 7 years and still provide a
    modest middle class tax cut; to maintain our obligations to parents and
    children and to the future through the Medicare and Medicaid programs
    and through our investments in education; and to protect the
    environment.
        I urge the Republicans in Congress to keep working with me so that
    we can actually pass a balanced budget. We have the savings in common,
    we can do it, and we owe it to the American people to do it.
        Second, we have to work together to create more new high-wage jobs
    in the new industries of the future. That's why I was very pleased that
    just this week Congress passed landmark telecommunications legislation,
    legislation we have been working on for more than 3 years. It will
    create a lot of high-wage jobs. It will give consumers more choices in
    communications and in entertainment. It will help to unlock the power of
    the digital revolution. This legislation was passed the way we should
    deal with all our challenges, with Members of both parties working
    together and working together until they got it right.
        The third thing we should do is raise the minimum wage. Millions of
    people are raising children on the minimum wage. But if we don't raise
    it within a year it will be at a 40-year low in its purchasing power. We
    can't build a new economy with that kind of income to raise children on.
        And fourth, we must make sure that every working American has the
    personal economic security to make the most of his or her own life and
    to support a family. That means lifetime access to education and
    training. It means portable, secure pensions. And above all, for people
    with families especially, it means access to health care.
        Our Nation is the only leading economy in the world where insurance
    companies are allowed to deny you coverage or raise your rates just
    because you're sick. If you have a preexisting condition like diabetes,
    high blood pressure, or heart disease, an insurance company can simply
    turn you down. If you are healthy but your child has asthma, your child
    can be denied coverage. And in some cases, if you're pregnant and you
    move to a new job, that can be enough to turn you away.
        Many millions more people simply lose their health coverage as they
    move from one job to another. Believe it or not, between 1991 and 1993
    some 64 million people went without health insurance for some period of
    time. For working families that's like walking on a tightrope without a
    net below.
        We shouldn't put obstacles in the way of people who want to move to
    better jobs. We certainly shouldn't put additional burdens on people who
    lose their jobs that they want to keep. At the very least, our first
    step should be to make sure that working people who have health
    insurance can take it with them from job to job.
        The State of New Hampshire, where I am today, is one of 42 States to
    take some action to try and solve this problem. But only if we take
    national action will we truly be able to give working people access to
    health care. There is bipartisan legislation that would protect these
    working families, sponsored by Senator Nancy Kassebaum, a Republican
    from Kansas, and Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
    The bill would require insurers to cover men and women who have lost
    insurance because they change or lose their jobs. It would limit the
    ability of insurance companies to exclude you from coverage if you have
    a preexisting condition. And it would help small businesses and
    individuals pool their resources to buy insurance at cheaper rates. It
    could help as many as 25 million Americans each year to

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    have or to keep their health insurance. It's good common sense, and it's
    the right thing to do.
        The Kassebaum-Kennedy bill has 43 cosponsors from both parties in
    the Senate. It passed through its committee unanimously. It has the
    support of the National Association of Manufacturers, the chamber of
    commerce, and the national small business union. It is supported by
    doctors as well as consumer groups. It should pass easily.
        When I challenged Congress to pass this bipartisan health care
    reform in my State of the Union Address, nearly every Member of Congress
    jumped to their feet and applauded, but now the bill is stalled. It
    turns out that some Senators have quietly been working to keep this bill
    from coming up to a vote even though it passed out of the committee
    unanimously. Why are they doing it? Because that's what the insurance
    industry wants them to do. And the insurance industry is lobbying hard
    against the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill.
        This health reform, however, is sensible. It's straightforward. It's
    fair. It is genuinely bipartisan. It will help to give peace of mind to
    literally millions of American families. I call on every Member of
    Congress who stood up for this bill when the cameras were on to stand up
    for it now, to pass the Kassebaum-Kennedy health reform bill and to pass
    it without delay.
        If we believe that hard-working people deserve a chance to better
    their lives without sacrificing their health insurance, then we must
    pass this bill now. If we believe it's wrong to deny health coverage to
    a person just because he or she is sick, then we must pass this bill
    now. If we believe a sick child should not be denied health care while
    her healthy brothers and sisters are still covered, we must pass this
    bill now. This bill is an example of what we can do when we put aside
    partisanship and work together for the common good. Millions of lives
    will be changed for the better when it becomes law. We shouldn't let any
    special interest get in the way now. Let's work together and pass the
    Kassebaum-Kennedy bill, and let's do it now.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 5:45 p.m. on February 2 at the Sanders
    Lockheed plant in Nashua, NH, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February 3.