[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 29 (Monday, July 23, 2007)]
[Pages 974-976]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Discussion on Health Care in Landover, Maryland

July 18, 2007

    Today I've had a really good discussion about health care and health 
care problems with three business owners and employees of the small 
business with Secretary Leavitt

[[Page 975]]

and Mark McClellan and Administrator Preston. I heard a common 
complaint, that health care is--the costs are too high; that small-
business owners feel very pinched by these high costs; that they don't 
like the idea of having to make the decision between providing health 
care for their employees and not expanding their businesses.
    And the fundamental question, given these frustrations, is what do 
we do about it as a nation? There is an interesting debate taking place 
in Congress, and there is a philosophical divide. Some in Congress 
believe the best solution to solving the frustrations of uninsured and 
high costs for small businesses is to expand the role of government. I 
have a different point of view. I believe the best way to deal with the 
frustrations of high cost of health care and uninsured is to change the 
Tax Code, is to make health care in the private sector more affordable 
and more available.
    The debate in Congress is now centering around what's called SCHIP, 
which is the Children's Health Care Insurance Program. It was a program 
initially designed to help poor families afford health care for their 
children. I support that concept. As a matter of fact, the budget I 
submitted funds health care for poor children. Members of Congress have 
decided, however, to expand the program to include, in some cases, up to 
families earning $80,000 a year, which would cause people to drop their 
private insurance in order to be involved with a government insurance 
plan.
    And when you couple that with the idea that some have suggested of 
reducing the age at which you can be eligible for Medicare, you're 
beginning to get a sense of a strategy to grow the government role in 
the provision of health care. I believe government cannot provide 
affordable health care. I believe--it would cause the quality of care to 
diminish. I believe there would be lines and rationing over time. If 
Congress continues to insist upon expanding health care through the 
SCHIP program, which, by the way, would entail a huge tax increase for 
the American people, I'll veto the bill.
    Our proposal is a strategy that says to small-business owners and 
individuals, we want you, one, to be in charge of your health care 
system--health care decisions; and, two, we believe you're discriminated 
against in the Tax Code. You work for a large company, you get a tax 
break on your health care. You work for a small business and/or you're 
in the individual market, you don't get the same tax break. And that's 
unfair, and it's not right. And therefore, I have proposed to the United 
States Congress that we have a $15,000 deductible for families and a 
$7,500 deductible for individuals, all aimed at encouraging people to be 
able to afford insurance and aimed at the encouragement of the 
development of an individual market.
    I believe strongly that small businesses ought to be afforded the 
chance to purchase health care across jurisdictional boundaries. Mike 
owns a small restaurant, he ought to be able to pool risk with 
restaurants in Texas or California or anywhere else, so he can better 
afford insurance. I want patients making decisions, not bureaucrats in 
Washington, DC. I want the system to benefit the individual, the small-
business owner, not large insurance companies.
    And I really do believe that government involvement in health care 
will lead to less quality care and rationing over time. And therefore, 
we proposed a plan. I urge the Congress to work with us on making the 
Tax Code fair. I know there are different ideas as to whether or not 
there ought to be a $15,000 deductible or a credit. I'm open-minded; I'm 
willing to listen. But what I'm not willing to listen to is a direct 
expansion of the Federal role in providing--a massive expansion of the 
Federal role in providing health care for individuals across the 
country.
    Thank you all for having me. Cliff, thank you; you have a very 
interesting company here. I'm proud to be with small-business owners. I 
understand the role of small businesses in our society. We have worked 
to reduce taxes on small businesses because we want you to grow. And the 
fact that you are growing across the country collectively is one reason 
why our economy is so strong. And this economy is doing well. The 
unemployment rate is 4.5 percent; small businesses are growing; people 
are working; stock market is up; inflation is down. And we're going to 
keep it that way. One way you keep it that

[[Page 976]]

way is to have good health care policy emanating out of Washington and 
another is to keep taxes low. And that's what we're going to do. So 
thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:27 a.m. at Man & Machine, Inc. 
Participating in the discussion were Mark B. McClellan, visiting senior 
fellow, AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies; Mike 
Kostinsky, owner, and Debbie Couch, manager, Sorrento of Arbutus; 
Clifton Broumand, president and chief executive officer, and Lenny 
Merryman, operations manager, Man & Machine, Inc.; and Phyllis Burlage, 
owner, and Lori Emmert, office manager, Burlage & Associates. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
these remarks.