U.S. Chamber Commends President Bush Effort to Help Uninsured

WASHINGTON, D.C. — United States Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue today made the following statement in response to President Bush's address at the Medical College of Wisconsin about health care and his efforts to ease the problems of the uninsured and rising health care costs:

"We praise President Bush for keeping his campaign promise to make health coverage more affordable and accessible for uninsured Americans, and to help seniors who need it most with their drug costs. Bad ideas like the Kennedy patients' bill of rights that include costly mandates and allows unlimited liability against employers takes us in the wrong direction.

"The Kennedy proposal is nothing more than a cash cow for trial lawyers and leaves employers and working families to pay the bill."

Tomorrow, the Chamber, along with the AFL-CIO and 10 other organizations, is launching a major public affairs campaign to press lawmakers to act on the problems of the uninsured and escalating health care costs.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

# # #

02-18