U.S. Chamber Small Businesses Rally for Health Care Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Hundreds of small business members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attending a two-day small business summit will storm Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon, urging their elected officials to support legislation allowing the creation of small business health plans (SBHPs).

"Small business owners have a message for the U.S. Senate: pass health care reform now," said Rolf Lundberg, Chamber senior vice president of congressional affairs. "Business owners provide health care to more than 130 million workers and their families, but they cannot continue to cope with the spiraling costs alone."

Lundberg and other U.S. Chamber representatives will join Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) and others in a rally on the steps of the U.S. Capitol this afternoon to urge passage of the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2006 (S. 1955), which is currently being debated in the Senate. S. 1955 would allow the creation of SBHPs that would offer small businesses greater bargaining power, economies of scale, and administrative efficiencies under the same federal law governing health benefits for large corporations and unions.

"With three out of every four new jobs created by a small business owner, their financial health and stability are the lynch pin for the nation's economy," Lundberg said at the rally. "Lawmakers will listen to the stewards of our prosperity."

In addition to today's rally on Capitol Hill and visits by hundreds of small businesses with their elected officials, the Chamber has organized a phone bank for its members to call their Senators and express their support for health care reform.

These activities are being held as part of the Chamber's small business summit, ACCESS 2006, which has attracted more than 500 small businesses to a two-day event that will present leaders from business and politics—including Treasury Secretary John Snow, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and FedEx Chairman, President, and CEO Fred Smith—and inform small businesses on how to be more politically active and engaged.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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