WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- House Majority Whip Roy Blunt today urged House passage of meaningful health security legislation designed to provide access to health care for millions of Americans, and ensure American workers and businesses remain competitive in today's global economy.
"Lawsuits resulting in sky-high awards have made lawyers rich, driven health care providers out of business and closed trauma centers nationwide," said Blunt. "The House has taken decisive action in the past to rectify these problems, and we will continue to act until the Senate takes up these important health security measures."
As part of House Republicans' "Careers for a 21st Century America" initiative, the House today passed H.R. 4279, Flexible Savings Accounts legislation, and will vote today and tomorrow on H.R. 4280, The HEALTH Act of 2004 and H.R. 4281, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2004, respectively.
Added Blunt: "The House is also acting to ensure America's competitiveness in today's global economy. By allowing small businesses to join together to purchase health insurance for their workers, the House has taken tremendous strides toward reducing the number of uninsured Americans, and lowering health care costs for small business owners.
"And for the first time, thirty million employees will be able to roll- over up to five hundred dollars of unused funds each year to continue investing in their future health care needs without feeling the pressure to use all of their medical savings on December 31st," said Blunt.
Continued Blunt: "House Republicans are focused on securing health care for all Americans. The Senate must follow suit to fix our broken health care system and ensure American workers remain the best in the world."
With a focus on health care security, this week marked the first in House Republicans' eight-week "Careers for a 21st Century America" agenda, designed to foster competition and create an environment for job creation.
Office of the Majority Whip, Roy BluntCONTACT: Burson Taylor or Jessica Boulanger, +1-202-226-7022, both ofthe Office of the Majority Whip, Roy Blunt
Web site: http://www.majoritywhip.gov/
