mr. speaker , uninsured working families are looking to congress for answers to help give them access to quality health care , and before us today is a bipartisan bill that should give them hope . 
the economic picture remains bright , and more americans are finding work every day . 
earlier this month , the department of labor reported that 3.7 million new jobs have been created since may of 2003 , marking 25 consecutive months of positive job growth for the u.s. economy . 
unfortunately , there are still millions of working families without health insurance . 
they need access to quality health care , and they are asking for our help . 
the bill we will consider on the floor later today responds directly to their needs . 
it is simply unacceptable that more than 45 million americans lack health insurance today . 
studies indicate that 60 percent of these uninsured americans either work for a small business or are dependent upon someone who does . 
many of these americans work for small employers who can not afford to purchase quality health insurance benefits for their workers . 
that is the crux of the problem . 
more americans are finding new jobs , but many small businesses can not afford to offer health insurance because of rising premium costs . 
our primary goal here in congress , mr. speaker , should be creating affordable options to help the uninsured . 
with health care costs continuing to rise sharply across the country , more and more employers and their employees are sharing the burden of increased premiums . 
employer-based health insurance premiums rose by 11 percent last year , following a 15 percent increase in 2003 . 
as costs escalate , the ranks of the uninsured could continue to increase as well . 
the small business health fairness act before us represents a bipartisan solution to this problem . 
by creating association health plans , the bill gives small businesses the opportunity to band together through bona fide trade associations and purchase quality health insurance for their workers at a lower cost . 
in the last year , we have seen how large corporations are now starting to band together to provide health care to their part-time workers . 
small businesses and their workers deserve the same opportunities . 
this bipartisan bill would increase small businesses ' bargaining power with health care providers , giving them freedom from costly state-mandated benefit packages and lowering their overhead costs by as much as 30 percent , which are benefits many large corporations and unions already enjoy . 
by pooling their resources and increasing their bargaining power , association health plans will reduce the cost of health insurance for employers and allow more small businesses to provide health care to their workers . 
last year , the house passed this measure on a bipartisan basis with the support of 37 of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle . 
unfortunately , the other body has yet to act on this bill . 
but there remains hope . 
senator enzi , who chairs the senate committee on health , education , labor , and pensions , has expressed a strong interest in working on this proposal , and i am more optimistic than ever that the senate will address this problem . 
this measure is supported by president bush , the labor department , republicans and democrats , and , moreover , a poll conducted last year reveals that 93 percent of americans support ahps as an option for providing affordable health care for american workers . 
small businesses deserve the chance to obtain high-quality health insurance at an affordable price for their workers , and ahps are a prescription for helping the uninsured . 
mr. speaker , i think the rule before us today is a fair rule , and i urge my colleagues to support it . 
