OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Employee Free Choice Act

Date: March 1, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care


EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

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Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of the ``Employee Free choice Act,' H.R. 800. This is a historic moment for working families, and I am proud to be a part of it. Unions matter. The Washington Post reported yesterday that 12-year-old, Maryland resident Deamonte Driver died from a bad tooth. A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him. Instead, the infection from the bad tooth spread to his brain. Unfortunately, the bakery, construction and home health-care jobs Deamonte's mother has held did not provide the insurance necessary to pay for his care.

This tragedy might have been avoided if Deamonte's mother were a union employee. Eighty percent of union workers have employer-provided health insurance, compared with on 49 percent of nonunion workers. Our health care system is broken in this country, and unions provide a solution for so many families. I would like to thank Chairman Miller for his leadership on this issue, and I urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of it.

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