Welcomes Health Care, Energy, Immigration Proposals

In his State of the Union address on January 23, President Bush urged Congress to pass a number of economic and workforce proposals strongly favored by the U.S. Chamber.

Health Care

In his speech, the president outlined several proposals to make health insurance affordable for individuals and small businesses. He reiterated his continuing support for further expanding health savings accounts (HSAs) and for allowing small businesses to band together across state lines to purchase health care insurance free of state regulations. The Chamber has long supported these policies.

In addition, the president called for increased transparency among health care providers and endorsed sharing all available information on health care costs and quality with consumers. He also urged the adoption of electronic medical records by hospitals and physicians' offices. The Chamber has lobbied in support of health information technology (IT) as a means to reduce costs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of medical treatment.

The president unveiled a new health care proposal: tax code reform to provide a standard deduction for the purchase of health insurance. "The devil is in the details, but it's something we should seriously look at," says Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue. "We've always believed in equity in tax deductions, so if a company can deduct its health care costs, then individuals who have to buy insurance for their families should be able to deduct these costs too."

Energy
President Bush once again called on Americans to reduce their dependence on foreign oil and urged Congress to allow stepped up domestic production in environmentally sensitive ways, including in a small area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"The United States needs an energy policy that grants Americans access to oil and natural gas resources while striking a balance between national energy needs and state-specific environmental concerns," according to Bill Kovacs, the Chamber's vice president of Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs.

The president also challenged Americans to reduce their consumption of gasoline by 20% in the next 10 years. To do so, he suggested increasing the supply of renewable and alternative fuels and reforming the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars. The Chamber applauds these energy proposals because, if enacted, they would reduce oil consumption, provide for greater energy security, and stimulate the development of new technologies.

Immigration
President Bush also called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year that would secure the nation's borders, create an essential worker program, and resolve the status of undocumented workers already in the United States. The Chamber is working with the administration and Congress to draft legislation embodying the president's proposal.

According to Angelo Amador, the Chamber's director of immigration policy, "We will continue to pursue an immigration policy that recognizes and incorporates these valued workers into the economic, social, and political fabric of the United States."