Darlene Hooley

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. A lot of these parents, they cannot afford a full policy. They find it unaffordable. It is not that they are not willing to pay some money and squeeze out some money out of a very limited budget for some health insurance. It is the cost. Mr. Speaker, if we go out and buy individually for a family or what we were talking about, if they work for a small business, they are a part-time worker, there is maybe not a policy in their company, and for them to go out and buy that individually is very expensive. But these are, if it were a little more affordable, these are people willing to help and pitch in to pay for part of it. They just cannot afford the whole coverage. It reminds me when we talk about the cost and about prevention, I do not know if we remember the old television ad: You can pay me now or pay me later. It is one of those, if we do not take care of them now, we really do pay so much more later on.

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, in some of these things I will be repeating the same as the gentleman from New Jersey, but I think they are worth repeating. It is alarming, the number of children in this country who do not have any health care. Again, it is over 10 million children with no health care. Every minute, every minute, three children lose their health care coverage. By the year 2000 if nothing changes, as many as 12.6 million kids will have to depend on an emergency room as opposed to a family physician. Let me try to tell the Members what that means for our kids. Most of the uninsured children are at risk for preventable illnesses. For example, one in two uninsured children who have asthma do not visit the doctor during the year. As a consequence, these kids end up in the hospital with problems that could have been prevented with proper care. All we need to do is look at the kids that are uninsured who have ear infections, a very common problem for kids. One in three never see a doctor, and many end up with permanent hearing loss. It is situations like these that make me think about the parents who lay awake each night wondering what they can do when their kids get sick. There is no instinct as basic as that instinct to protect one's children and care for one's children. Today there are too many parents in America who cannot act on that instinct. The real tragedy of the situation is that these are parents who play by the rules. Nine out of ten uninsured children have parents who work. These are not deadbeat parents, these are parents who work, but their employers do not provide coverage for their employees' children. We have Medicaid that helps the very poorest of the children, and we have families that are well off that can afford insurance, and we have some people that work for employers who provide that insurance; but we have millions of parents who work every day, who are trapped in the middle. They have just enough money to cover their food or their housing and clothing for their children, and they simply do not have the money to pay for health insurance. But we can help. I think it is time that we provide some kind of targeted tax credit that will help working families provide that health insurance that their kids so desperately need. This is not a new government program. We can do it within our current structure. It is a way to make the current health system work for working families. Mr. Speaker, I think it is a very practical, commonsense solution to a growing problem. It is a problem that every parent caught in the middle has to deal with, and we need to make sure that these parents can provide for their children. We cannot afford to do anything different.

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity to help the 10-million-plus children in the United States who do not have health insurance. Together we can help families help themselves by providing parents with a tax credit that will enable them to purchase health insurance for their children. When you really think about it, the current situation is unconscionable; 10 million uninsured children have to rely on emergency room treatment instead of their family doctor for treatment; 90 percent of these uninsured children have parents who work, but their employers do not provide health coverage for their children. Mr. Speaker, I think about the parents who lay awake each night wondering what they will do if their kids get sick. Caring for your children is perhaps the most basic human instinct and, as things stand now, millions of hard-working parents are having trouble providing health coverage for their children. We can help. Soon I will cosponsor a plan that requires insurance companies to provide kids-only health plans with tax credits to help families pay the premiums. I believe this is something Members from both sides of the aisle can agree on. It is not a new program. It is a program to help our children.

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, we have a golden opportunity to pass a measure that will help working families and their children secure the education and job training they need to get ahead. In the next few months we will debate a proposal that will provide up to $10,000 a year in tax deductions to working families so they can send their children to college or vocational school. Under the plan, parents could also improve their lives through career training. As a former teacher, I know that education is the best way for people to help themselves and for families to improve their lives. Global marketplaces and rapidly developing technologies make it hard to compete with just a high school diploma. In fact, the Census Bureau reports that college graduates earn an average of $17,000 more than high school graduates every year. Figures like these show what we already know: Educational opportunities translate directly into economic security. That is why I promised the working families and young people of my district that I would fight to get this tuition deduction passed through this Congress. Please join me in supporting this important initiative.