mr. speaker , today i rise in opposition to this rule and the underlying measure of h.r. 525 . 
this country leads in medicine and technology . 
when combined with increased education and awareness , we have made diseases more preventable and treatable . 
we have made huge strides , for example , diagnosing and treating breast cancer . 
women are now going in for annual mammograms . 
in and of itself , mammograms do not prevent breast cancer , but they can save lives by finding breast cancer as early as possible . 
for example , mammograms have been shown to lower the chance of dying from breast cancer by 35 percent in women over the age of 50 . 
and studies suggest for women between 40 and 50 , they may lower the chance of dying of breast cancer by 25 to 35 percent . 
having worked on educational campaigns for over a decade , i know that it has not been easy to convince women that they should be asking their doctor for a mammogram , nor , i might add , has it been easy to ensure that health insurance companies cover the cost of these mammograms . 
but through the tireless efforts of doctors , survivors , and advocates , the insurance companies relented . 
today we are increasingly catching and treating breast cancer in the early stages , yet the legislation we are debating here on the floor today would effectively roll back these advances , and , even worse , doctors would now have to tell the 28-year-old woman who thinks she has found a lump in her breast that her health care insurance does not cover a mammogram to better see the abnormality ; that her health care coverage is no longer subject to minimum standards established by her state because she is covered by an associated health plan , an ahp , which is located in a different state with far more relaxed laws on health care coverage . 
too many americans are already without sufficient health care coverage . 
they are being forced to accept health care that does not provide what they need when they fall ill , whether it is breast cancer exams , diabetes medication , or childhood vaccinations . 
why would we increase the number of these individuals without adequate health care coverage ? 
some may claim that these standards for health care treatments , like those that require insurance companies to cover mammograms , are nothing but burdensome regulations , but these safeguards go to the heart of what responsible health care is all about : providing necessary care to those in need . 
and ahps would not even reduce the cost of the premiums . 
under the legislation we debate today , ahps could skim off a small minority of small businesses , those with younger and healthier workforces . 
as a direct result , 80 percent of small businesses would see an increase in their health care premiums . 
mr. speaker , i truly question what we are doing today . 
why would we create a situation that increases the already skyrocketing health care costs for four out of five small businesses ? 
sadly , this is what we are doing . 
we are putting our small businesses in the awkward position of not being able to offer health care coverage to that young woman facing the possibility of breast cancer , or offering access to a health care plan that will not cover her diagnosis and certainly not a treatment . 
we could do better by that young woman and our nation 's small business owners . 
congress could pass the democratic substitute offered by the gentleman from wisconsin ( mr. kind ) xz4002180 and the gentleman from new jersey ( mr. andrews ) xz4000080 , which would allow small business employees to access the same quality health care coverage which federal employees enjoy . 
the substitute 's federal partnership would allow this plan to be offered at an affordable price . 
this alternative would truly have a positive impact , ensuring that americans have access to affordable and quality health care . 
i urge my colleagues to support it . 
unfortunately , the legislation we debate on the floor , h.r. 525 , which would create ahps will most likely worsen health care situations . 
mr. speaker , if we , members of congress , would not accept a health plan that does not include minimum coverage , why then should the american people ? 
we have an opportunity today . 
we can support the democratic alternative and pass legislation that actually addresses the critical health care problems facing small business owners , or we can pass the legislation in front of us that does the opposite . 
it should not be a difficult decision . 
mr. speaker , i urge all members to votes against the rule and the underlying bill . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
