Maxwell Frost: “I support the idea behind the association health plans. Helping small businesses has been a priority of mine for a long…”

“I support the idea behind the association health plans. Helping small businesses has been a priority of mine for a long while. At the same time, I strongly believe that we have a moral obligation to help every American get the health coverage they and their families need. So I am glad that the Democrats on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, particularly the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews), have written the Democratic substitute. It is a sensible and affordable plan to ensure health coverage for small businesses and their employees that is at least as good as Federal employees get. If you think small businesses deserve the same health coverage that Members of Congress get, then the Democratic plan is for you. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Republican Party controls the House of Representatives. That gives them the power to block important priorities, and they have no problem using it. For instance, they are still blocking tax relief for millions of military and working families. Six times Democrats have tried to give the child tax credit to these families because we believe that they deserve at least a fraction of the tax breaks that Republicans gave to millionaires last month. But six times, House Republicans have used their power to deny these families. Today, Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership is using their power and this restrictive rule to undermine patient protections.”