Thomas Daschle: “During our spring recess, I had the opportunity to travel throughout my home State and visit with South Dakotans. These…”

“During our spring recess, I had the opportunity to travel throughout my home State and visit with South Dakotans. These are proud days for South Dakota. Citizens are eager to welcome home hundreds of their sons and daughters, husbands and wives, who served so magnificently in Iraq. South Dakota boasts one of the highest proportions of service men and women in the country. We are proud of the job South Dakotans are doing to bring freedom to Iraq and security and stability to the Persian Gulf. But these are anxious days for South Dakota, as well. Jobs are hard to come by. The State's budget is under pressure. Meanwhile, the planting season has begun and farmers and the communities depending upon the land are hoping for some relief to the 5-year drought that continues to cause devastation. But amid all the concerns on the minds of South Dakota families, the most common and deeply felt, is the financial strain of skyrocketing health care costs and the fear that they may one day lose their health coverage altogether. Day after day, people know that they are one layoff, one bad crop, one accident, or one illness away from being totally unprotected. I met with veterans who are picking up a greater share of their health care costs, because cuts to their health benefits are causing longer waits and worse care. I met with self-employed people, small business owners and farmers, who buy their own insurance and as a result face premium costs as high as $20,000.”