Floor Statements

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to address the provisions of section 1103, which specifies the criteria to be considered in determining whether a financial company might be subject to stricter standards. It is my understanding that nondepository captive finance companies do not pose the types of risks that warrant such treatment.

Nondepository captive finance companies typically provide financing on a nonrevolving basis only to customers and to dealers who sell and lease the products of their parent or affiliate. As such, they are involved in only a narrow scope of financial activity.

Equally important, their loans are made on a depreciating asset, a fact taken into account when the loans are entered into. If they are not a depository institution, they therefore have no access to the Federal deposit insurance safety net. It is my understanding that it is the intent of the committee that nondepository captive finance companies are not the types of finance companies that should be subjected to stricter standards under section 1103 of this legislation; is that correct?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 727, which supports the goals and ideals of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

We all know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer and understand the devastating impact that diagnosis can have on the patient and his or her family. Although we have made great strides in recent years in finding new treatments for those afflicted with cancer, ovarian cancer continues to be difficult to diagnose and when discovered in later stages, the survival rate is lower than 45 percent. Ovarian cancer silently spreads because we cannot reliably screen for it and because its symptoms are common with other diseases.

As an original cosponsor of H.R. 1816, the ``Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act,'' introduced by my friend and colleague Representative Berman, I believe we should encourage collaboration between the federal government and institutions conducting invaluable research on biomarkers for use in risk stratification for, and the early detection and screening of, ovarian cancer. These types of initiatives will ensure that the United States remains a leader in medical breakthroughs and innovations.

We must continue to support funding for research into ovarian cancer, so that we may one day find a cure. We also must devote the necessary resources into developing new screening technology for cancers like ovarian cancer which all too often are found late. Equally important, all women and men need to educate themselves about ovarian cancer so that we save our own lives or those of our loved ones.

I want to commend Representative Israel for introducing this important resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Pilot Club of Columbus for seventy years of service to the Columbus community. The Pilot Club is a volunteer service organization that focuses on helping those with brain-related disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, autism, chemical dependency, traumatic brain injuries, and other disabilities.

Pilot International was founded in Macon, Georgia in October 1921 to provide volunteer services and to raise funds for those with brain- related disorders. In 1939, Pilot International chartered the Pilot Club of Columbus. Over the last seven decades, this organization has promoted awareness and prevention of brain-related disorders in Central Ohio and has provided support for countless individuals and families who are living with developmental, emotional, and mental disabilities.

The Pilot Club of Columbus creates a valuable network of service- minded individuals who have contributed to our community in numerous ways. In recent years, Columbus Pilots have provided furniture for a new senior citizen center and organized celebrations for patients at the former Ohio Psychiatric Hospital who have suffered from brain- related disorders such as Alzheimer and autism. The Pilot Club also has raised money to help individuals with autism and other neurological disorders and supports the BrainMinders project, which spreads information about preventing traumatic brain injury.

The Pilot Club has spent seven decades serving those who are struggling with the painful and complicated challenges associated with brain-related disorders. The Columbus Pilots have demonstrated their generosity, compassion, and commitment to making a difference in the city of Columbus. I am proud to recognize and honor the Pilot Club of Columbus and all of its dedicated volunteers for 70 years of valuable service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Bill Lane for a lifetime of service to the Worthington community. Bill Lane built a legacy as a dedicated and innovative educator for three decades. He passed away in 2008, but he will be remembered for his extensive service to our community.

Bill Lane began teaching at Thomas Worthington High School in the 1950's. He went on to become the high school principal, the assistant superintendent, and the interim superintendent of the Worthington Schools. He was a creative and farsighted educator who contributed greatly to the school's development until his retirement in 1981. As well as overseeing the creation of a large, complex, and modern high school, Bill Lane helped to form the Linworth Campus. This alternative school allows students to make choices about their education, take responsibility, and learn through experiential education.

In addition to his loyal service to our schools, Bill Lane was active in several local organizations. As a member of the Worthington Historical Society, he helped organize its semi-annual Antiques Sale. He was also involved in the St. John's Episcopal Church, Kiwanis, and a men's prayer group.

To honor the service of this visionary educator, those who knew him have formed the Friends of Bill Lane to raise money for a plaque honoring Bill's career at Thomas Worthington High School. They also are planning to establish a teaching grant in his name through the Worthington Educational Association. They have received donations and support from people throughout the community who remember Bill Lane's devotion and character. His contributions to our school system will not be forgotten, and I am proud to recognize and honor this highly- esteemed and dedicated educator for a lifetime of service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend Steve Baertsche on his induction into the Farm Science Review Hall of Fame on September 22, 2009. Mr. Baertsche was inducted as one of five members of the 20th Hall of Fame Class.

Mr. Baertsche recently retired as the Assistant Director for Ohio State University Extension. OSU Extension seeks to bring the knowledge of the university to those Ohioans who do not have regular access to campuses around the state. Extension fulfills the land-grant mission of the Ohio State University by interpreting research developed by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State, and other land-grant universities, so that Ohioans can use scientifically- based information to improve their lives. OSU Extension serves a vital role by strengthening communities through research-based educational programming.

Mr. Baertsche led OSU Extension's leadership effort for more than 15 years and helped enhance the program's presence at the Farm Science Review, FSR. FSR manager Chuck Gamble stated that, ``Steve Baertsche's leadership was much appreciated. His understanding of Extension and its mission definitely led to the success of Ohio State University research and educational efforts at Farm Science Review. He took Extension to a higher level.''

I am privileged to say that Steve Baertsche is one of my constituents. I would like to congratulate Mr. Baertsche again, and I thank him for his service and his work to instruct Ohioans how to better their lives through education.

Madam Speaker, I am introducing the ``Energy Efficiency Modernization Act of 2009,'' to establish market incentives so that federally assisted housing can become more energy efficient.

Federally assisted housing programs provide real opportunities for green improvements. However, existing rules and regulations make it difficult for owners of federally assisted housing to maximize efforts and decrease our Nation's energy bill.

A 2008 study by the Government Accountability Office found that the Department of Housing and Urban Development spends an estimated $5 billion annually on energy costs to pay for roughly 6 million units of housing, representing almost 17 percent of the Nation's rental housing stock.

Improving the energy efficiency of federally assisted housing by 25 to 40 percent would result in savings for HUD at roughly $1 billion to $1.5 billion annually, making the long-term cost savings for the Federal Government--and, most importantly, taxpayers--substantial.

Furthermore, energy efficiency improvements will provide stimulus to the economy in terms of capital projects and ``green collar'' jobs, create best practices for the industry on the whole and fulfill the mandate of HUD.

Madam Speaker, on the legislative day of Monday, November 16, 2009, I was unable to cast votes on a number of rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall votes 889 and 890, and ``aye'' on rollcall vote 891.

Mr. Speaker, this is an historic day and a very exciting day as we move towards a vote on a bill to make health care affordable and accessible for all Americans. Like you, I have been listening to my constituents. I have been hearing their stories.

Even last night I got a call from a friend. Steve, after fighting off lymphoma, got a notice from his insurance company that the policy for his law office was now being canceled, giving him a lot of insecurity about what his future would be and the future of the people who work for him.

This bill would end that kind of discrimination, the discrimination against people with preexisting conditions, and provide security to millions of Americans, Americans like me with multiple sclerosis and many of us with other preexisting conditions.

This is a moral issue for people, people who will now be able to access our health care system. Mr. Speaker, it is a very proud day to be able to take this historic step and end this discrimination.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent----

I thank the gentlelady from New York.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks in support of the Democratic bill because----

Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Do I not have the right to be able to continue my sentence without objections that are trying to censure my remarks here on the floor that I have a right to make as a Member of Congress?

I ask unanimous consent again to revise and extend my remarks because this----

I rise in support of this Democratic bill because it won't force women into a bare bones policy, high deductible, and high- cost plan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address some of the claims made by the other side of the aisle that the Democratic health care bill will cost our country's economy jobs. In fact, as noted in the June 2009 Council of Economic Advisers' report, our legislation will most likely have a positive impact on job growth, economic efficiency, standards of living, and the budget deficit.

Our bill will provide assistance to small businesses. Small businesses in my district have asked over and over again for help with the crushing cost of health care insurance and for the problems that small groups have in obtaining insurance. Small businesses will see a great deal of help and support in this bill, and large businesses as well because they will be able to contain the costs of their health premiums, which over the years, as employers know, keep increasing at double-digit rates of inflation.

Our bill has features that will improve efficiency in the labor market, improve workplace productivity, and lower the rates of disability.

We've heard how long our country has waited to get a bill like this. We've heard that it's been since Teddy Roosevelt and other Presidents, other Congresses have tried and failed to bring America up to the standard of making health care affordable and accessible for all of us.

You know, we've waited a long time, and there is such a thing as waiting too long. It's been too long for the 14,000 Americans a day who lose their health care coverage. Too long for the millions of us who are deemed uninsurable because we have a preexisting condition. Too long for people without insurance who cannot obtain the lifesaving medication or life-improving medications that will help them live a better life.

It is time now to pass the Democratic health care bill, time to finally make coverage accessible, affordable. Give people a choice of doctors and plans and emphasize wellness, prevention, primary care in a bill that reduces the deficit and improves our economy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding leader in the field of affordable housing and long-term services and supports for people as they age. Thomas Slemmer is the outgoing chair of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), and I congratulate him on what he has accomplished for his field during his two-year term.

AAHSA members (www.aahsa.org) help millions of individuals and their families every day through mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing the services people need, when they need them, in the place they call home. The 5,700 member organizations, many of which have served their communities for generations, offer the continuum of aging services: adult day services, home health, community services, senior housing, assisted living residences, continuing care retirement communities, and nursing homes.

With Tom Stemmer at its head, AAHSA championed the combination of supportive services with affordable housing to enable seniors to remain in their communities and has taken a leadership role in developing realistic, workable solutions for Congress and states facing the impending long-term service and support needs of the aging baby boom generation.

Mr. Slemmer co-chaired AAHSA's Affordable Housing Finance Cabinet, which is developing recommendations for building and preserving housing to meet the physical and financial needs of a growing elder population. He also saw the introduction of the landmark Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act, which would promote the construction of new senior housing facilities, streamline the preservation of existing housing, and support the conversion of existing housing into assisted- living facilities with supportive health and social services.

Prior to becoming AAHSA's chair, Mr. Slemmer participated in the organization's Long-Term Services and Supports Financing Cabinet to find a more rational, sustainable and responsible system for funding aging services where he helped shape recommendations for a national insurance plan founded on three core principles: consumer choice, fiscal responsibility, and good stewardship of provider and public resources, and equity of benefits.

These recommendations closely aligned with the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act introduced and championed by the late Senator Edward Kennedy. AAHSA has united a wide range of stakeholders to work for the inclusion of CLASS provisions in health care reform, and these provisions are reflected in two of the health care reform measures drafted by congressional committees. AAHSA members from all over the country have advocated tirelessly for a mechanism to enable Americans to plan responsibly for their own long-term services and supports needs while also addressing the issues of access and cost.

To address other issues facing the nation's aging population, families, service providers and policymakers, Slemmer has overseen AAHSA member task forces on workforce, nursing home quality, home- and community-based services, and issues specific to rural and inner-city areas. Under his leadership, AAHSA has undertaken pilot technology projects, ``living laboratories'' linking member operations with research to demonstrate the effectiveness of applied technology to improve quality, make operations more efficient, and enable people to live independently wherever they call home.

In addition to his service as AAHSA's chair, Tom Slemmer is the president and chief executive officer of Columbus, Ohio's National Church Residences, where he has had a thirty year career. From a single affordable housing facility established in 1961, National Church Residences has grown to provide affordable housing, supportive services, assisted living, and skilled nursing care to low and moderate-income elders, families, persons with disabilities, and homeless families and individuals in facilities throughout the United States. In Central and Southern Ohio, NCR provides home and community based supportive services to allow elders to age in place in dignity in the comfort of their own homes. Its ministry serves over 22,000 individuals in 300 properties nationwide.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, National Church Residences and AAHSA launched a hotline to help displaced seniors find affordable housing. Low-income seniors and family members were able to call around the clock to be connected to housing resource professionals trained to evaluate and locate available affordable senior housing communities nationwide. Hundreds of evacuated elders were able to find temporary or permanent housing through National Church Residences and other AAHSA members. Based on this experience, AAHSA and National Church Residences submitted recommendations to Congress on improving coordination among aging services providers and federal, state, and local agencies in the event of natural disasters.

Because of the importance of supportive services to seniors' ability to remain longer in their communities, Mr. Stemmer was instrumental in establishing the American Association of Service Coordinators (AASC). AASC's over 2,000 members serve seniors, people with disabilities, and low income families living in affordable rental housing and the surrounding community. Service coordinators assist senior and disabled residents in identifying, locating, and acquiring the services necessary for them to remain independent and help families achieve self sufficiency and economic independence.

Mr. Slemmer also has served on the boards of the Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes, Housing and Services for the Aging; the National Affordable Housing Trust, the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future, and the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing.

I hope my colleagues will join me in commending Tom Stemmer for his longstanding service to our nation's elders and his work to develop realistic solutions to the challenges a growing elder population will pose in the years to come.

I appreciate this opportunity and thank you for your leadership in bringing us together tonight to talk about how health care issues affects our districts and what we are going to do about it. I have heard some of my colleagues, Representative Polis, talk about people being concerned that we are rushing this through. I think we have been taking quite a bit of time, dedicating hours and hours of time in committee hearings, in caucus meetings, in markups, on this issue of health care.

In my case, in my own district, I have been holding health care meetings, round tables, discussion groups, getting input from my constituents since February. Every time I go back to the district, meeting with doctors, meeting with nurses, other kinds of health care professionals, talking to school nurses, talking to small business and holding the small business round table about what they are going through with respect to health care, and it's very clear to me that this is an issue that needs attention. It's a problem, but it's also a problem we can solve, we can solve working together.

I also, listening to Dr. Kagen on the issue of preexisting condition, couldn't agree with him more. Many of the stories that I have heard at those various health care meetings and round tables involve people with preexisting conditions, and there is this misconception that young people don't get sick. It's only the older people who are the ones that really use health care. But I discovered at several of these round table meetings situations where young women, in this case, had received diagnoses of cancer. Because they were self-employed, because they were between jobs, they found that they were excluded from the health care system.

As a mother, I can't think of anything more terrifying than to have your daughter come home telling you that and knowing that they didn't have health care and how were you going to make sure that she got the care that she needs. It's a story that I hear time and time again.

A small restaurant owner, whose wife has lupus and that the insurance companies have priced their small group out of his ability to pay. As a result he was losing one of his key employees to somebody else who could get health care for her.

Another small businessperson who had had a heart attack, this person is a little bit older than the young woman I talked about, but his small business was hurting. Because of that experience they have been rated so high that they are having a harder and harder time paying for health insurance for himself, his family and his employees. It is a critical issue in my community, and we can address this key issue of ending discrimination against people with preexisting conditions.

It is not just these stories, these experiences that people have told me about. I have also heard it from our Department of Insurance commissioner. She tells me that in the State of Ohio, she has got a single-spaced list, three columns, three pages long, of various conditions that the insurance companies have used to deny Ohioans coverage based on a preexisting condition. Some of them you have heard from, Dr. Kagen, but some of them are also pretty absurd.

For example, acne was on that list. And today, if you saw some of the news on television, you saw a baby that looks like the stereotypical Gerber baby, in the 90th percentile on height and weight, excluded from health care because the insurance company decided that this baby, this perfectly healthy baby, had a preexisting condition. They determined that that baby was, quote-unquote, obese. The absurdities that the health care industry has used to exclude coverage from people who use it, who need it, is why we have health care.

This is a very personal issue. If I were to not work here in a situation where there was group coverage that I could buy and pay for on an exchange like we have here in Congress, whether I left this job voluntarily or involuntarily, I don't think I could go into the private market and buy an insurance policy for myself, because I have a preexisting condition called multiple sclerosis.

So there are so many people and many women, men also, who are excluded for this problem, and now we find out it is even babies. So we could fix this.

Well, Representative Pingree, I agree with you. And I think what you heard from Representative Tonko and what you've pointed to, but what Representative Tonko was talking about the public relations offensive that the health care insurance industry launched today is another example the kind of fear tactics that have been used all summer long regarding this health care debate. This is the latest example of it, that it's going to cost you more money somehow or other.

But we can hold down health care costs with this bill, and I think the best way to do that is to have a robust public option to get competition so the Anthems or the WellPoints or the UnitedHealthcares or whoever have something to compete against and that we, as consumers, have something that we can go to instead of one of the expensive health care plans that use these scare tactics, that raise rates, double-digit inflation year after year after year, while making the kind of profits that you were talking about, and yet millions of people in this country doing without basic medical care, medical needs. We need to stand up to that.

Well, I think this bill is an opportunity for us to make health care affordable for all Americans, including seniors who've been made to fear this bill. As Representative Tonko said earlier, helping them by closing the Medicare doughnut hole, helping them by eliminating copays for preventative services and testing and helping to make sure that there are lots of Medicare providers out there, because we are stabilizing the payment schedule for those providers.

This bill will help us by shifting the emphasis more onto prevention and wellness, the way Representative Dahlkemper talked about putting more emphasis on primary care and doing that by shifting the way some of the payments are set up so that primary care doctors are paid for what they do so well, for counseling, for listening, for taking that history and helping keeping us well and treating those concerns that we all have from time to time.

This bill will help us contain costs, help small and large business, help people who are without insurance and help people with insurance. And as Americans, this is an American plan. It's very important. It will continue to give us a choice of doctors and plans. So this is a huge achievement if we can get this bill passed. It is a great time to be in Congress, be a part of this wonderful discussion and deliberations and, I hope, eventually final passage of a bill that will do so much for so many people in our country.

I want to say thank you to both of my colleagues, Representative Myrick, with whom I have the great honor of serving as one of the

co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Cancer Caucus, and of course the gentlewoman from Florida for your strength as cancer survivors and for leadership on this issue.

I am lucky, Representative Wasserman Schultz, to have you as a friend, and I appreciate very much the kind comments you made just a few minutes ago about me. You have taught me so much about this Chamber and what it means to serve here as a Member of this House.

Last weekend, we saw some very interesting things happen on the football fields. We heard earlier from Representative Capps--and I remember those days when breast cancer was something to be whispered, when my mother and her sisters or my father's sisters would whisper in the other room about somebody who had been diagnosed, and things have changed that way.

And last weekend we saw some very large athletes who are man enough to wear pink. Hundreds of NFL football players shed their dirty cleats for fresh pink and white athletic shoes to show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to show their support for their mothers or sisters or aunts or grandmothers or for the thousands of women diagnosed with breast cancer in this country.

Awareness is very important. And I think awareness helps lead to action, the kind of action that we've talked about tonight with our sponsorship of the EARLY Act, the kind of action that dedicates resources to research and to access to health care.

The pink wave was a wonderful show of solidarity for cancer survivors and for continued research funding that we in this Chamber have supported. And while professional athletes get a lot of attention, I would like to call your attention to the next generation of athletes, to some women in my district who are also drawing attention to the cause and to the fight for a cure. In fact, they are instead of running for the cure, they are volleying for the cure.

And this week I visited Hilliard Bradley High School and presented each member of the Hilliard Bradley volleyball team with a recognition certificate for their service to the community through the Volley for the Cure event that took place at their high school on September 14. The Hilliard Bradley volleyball team and their coach, RyAnne Ufferman, with the support of small businesses and the community of Hilliard, raised $2,300 for the local affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The team had a T-shirt, a bake sale, and a raffle at their match against Fairbanks Local to raise awareness and money for the cause.

It's great that these young women recognize an issue that is facing us as women in this country, the need to raise further awareness and further resources so that we have a cure. And I was so pleased with them for their leadership. This is a new high school. These are not the seniors that are looking for something on their resume. These are freshman, sophomores, and juniors in this new high school on this new team stepping out beyond their comfort zone to go out and knock on doors and ask for money to join us in this cause to find the cause and the cure for breast cancer, a disease that affects in one way or another almost every single American. And it can only be eradicated if we all continue our efforts at the Federal level to support and to fund important research and to continue the grassroots support that we see at important organizations like Susan G. Komen.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of the 25 young women who put this event together, as well as for their four coaches.

These young women and this 25th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month should serve as a reminder to all of us to take breast cancer screening seriously and to make sure eliminating breast cancer is a priority for our country. We hold the key to this in our incredible doctors, in our scientists; and I hope that they will continue to receive the support they need.

People will learn how to be more aware of breast cancer and the need for examinations and prevention and detection, and we'll continue to work so that all of us, all women, have access to the women's health care that they need.

Thank you very much for this opportunity.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent to bring up the amendment as modified by the form placed at the desk.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

My amendment will help Americans looking for jobs. My amendment will focus on getting the 55,000 unemployed central Ohioans in my district back working and also help veterans get the training that they and millions of unemployed Americans need to get that job, a job that will support a family and increase their wages. My amendment is possible because of the strong work of Chairman Miller and his committee, and I thank him for that.

For many, finding a new job will mean enrolling in school at a time when the costs of higher education have been steadily increasing. Community colleges often represent the best and most affordable opportunity for individuals who need to obtain new skills but do not have the means to pay the tuition. Columbus State Community College in my district has been a source of pride because of the outstanding job they have done in these tough economic times to improve workforce training. On their own, they have created a special scholarship program that gives workers over the age of 25 without degrees up to $3,500 for retraining.

My amendment would ensure that Columbus State can continue their program and will encourage community colleges across the country to focus on dislocated workers and veterans. My amendment would help all of our out-of-work constituents, like the program at Columbus State has already helped my constituent Ryan. Raising a family of five, he was laid off from his job at a GM auto parts plant. But the scholarship program allowed him to retrain and pursue a passion to become a chef, get a full-time job and support his family. Not only did he receive a full-time job at a local restaurant, but he was also encouraged to open a catering business. His first job was a graduation party this summer that led to 14 new catering opportunities.

Madam Chair, this bill will be historic because of the opportunities it creates for education for our children. My amendment will ensure that this historic bill will also assist out-of-work Americans and veterans by getting them out of dead ends and into successful career paths.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time

May I inquire, Madam Chair, how much time I have?

I yield such time as he may consume to Representative Andrews from New Jersey.

Madam Chair, I appreciate the support from my colleagues and my colleagues from across the aisle. It is time that we come together to address this issue of the unemployed in our country. This amendment is about them. It's about getting them the education, the jobs and the training that will help them contribute to our economy and support their families.

I thank you very much and ask for support from my colleagues for the amendment and for this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, like I've heard from many of my colleagues this afternoon, I also have been listening to constituents in my district throughout the recess and this past weekend about the issue of health care. After church services last Sunday, this is what I heard from one woman who worked for General Motors for 26 years, taking an early retirement a few years ago, thinking she was secure in her retirement: Now she's found that she has lost her investments and her 401(k) because of the GM bankruptcy, and also lost her health care.

She is a breast cancer survivor. Now she is not of the means to buy insurance. No insurance company will insure her because of this preexisting condition. Mr. Speaker, there are too many people in my district and across the country who cannot buy insurance because they are barred because of preexisting conditions. This is one of the many reasons why we need to take action on real comprehensive health care reform.

Mr. Speaker, for the last couple of years I have been talking to small businesses in my district, and one of the things that I consistently hear from them that they ask for help with is the issue of the cost of health care for small business. Small business is telling me they can't afford to buy health care or they are precluded from buying it because one of the members in their small group has a pre-existing condition, and insurance companies don't even sell to them. I'm here to tell them that we are listening to them and that, if health care reform passes this House and is signed into law, it can reform dramatically the small business health care costs.

It can help small businesses by providing an exchange that they can access which will provide a bigger pool and shared risk and lower health care costs for them. And many small businesses would qualify for substantial tax credits to help small businesses make worker health care costs more affordable.

This bill will not cost small business jobs. In fact, it will help save jobs, giving them more opportunities to spend their money to help add to their jobs rather than paying extremely high health care costs.