• President Bush Focuses on Foreign Relations, Mentions Micro-Business Concerns in State of the Union Address
• Alito Confirmed, Sworn In As Associate Justice
• Former Cabinet Secretary Addresses Health Care Costs
• Member Poll: Looking Back at 2005

President Bush Focuses on Foreign Relations, Mentions Micro-Business Concerns in State of
the Union Address

White House photograph of President George W. Bush giving the State of the Union address. The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) applauds President Bush’s mention of issues important to micro-business owners in his annual State of the Union address last night, but fears that micro-business concerns will not be a high priority for the Administration or Congress this year. Bush spoke at length about the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism before addressing domestic issues like extending tax cuts. The NASE continues to advocate for changes to the current health care system but has seen few results in the 109th Congress so far. “Keeping America competitive requires affordable health care,” said Bush. “For all Americans, we must confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, and help people afford the insurance coverage they need.” “The president seems to have micro-business owners in mind in his new health policy proposals,” said NASE president Robert Hughes. “We look forward to working with the administration to make these ideas a reality for the self-employed.” President Bush called for the expansion of the deductibility of health insurance used in conjunction with a health savings account (HSA). The NASE remains a proponent of HSAs, which are used in conjunction with high-deductible insurance policies. Instead of paying a high monthly premium for insurance, a low premium, high-deductible health plan is purchased. The HSA then acts as an investment account from which people can withdraw money tax-free for medical care. Furthermore, Bush pushed the idea of allowing individuals to keep their insurance policies without extra cost if they change jobs or start a business in addition to his continued support of Small Business Health Plans that would allow small business owners to band together to purchase health insurance across state lines. “While the NASE supports the programs President Bush mentioned for the self-employed, we had hoped he would have spoken more at length about his solutions for addressing the problem of the growing number of working uninsured in this country,” said Kristie Darien, NASE executive director of the legislative offices. Last week in discussions regarding the State of the Union address, Bush called for more tax deductions on out-of-pocket medical expenses like co-payments, deductibles, and care that is not covered by insurance. Currently, medical expenses are deductible only if they are higher than 7.5 percent of adjusted income. He has said he would like to lower that percentage. Additionally, in a recent interview preceding the State of the Union address, Allan B. Hubbard, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said that the health care system is flawed because employers receive tax deductions for health insurance purchased for employees but the same tax preference does not exist for those who purchase coverage on their own. The NASE’s top legislative priority is to eliminate the self-employment tax that micro-business owners must pay on their insurance premium costs. President Bush also emphasized the importance of becoming less reliant on foreign oil for the nation’s energy needs. Use of ethanol, hydrogen, solar power, and other alternative energy sources were at the crux of his plan to produce enough energy for the United States. A recent, online NASE member poll found that forty-three percent of micro-business owners said they have had to increase prices of service or products because of high energy costs. Two-thirds of respondents favored tax subsidies to energy companies to develop new energy efficient technologies as well as tax credits to drivers who buy cars with fuel-efficient technology and a majority favor alternative energy source expansion (61 percent). The NASE plans to work with the Administration and Congress to pass important legislation benefiting the self-employed and micro-businesses. For more information about the NASE’s legislative priorities, visit http://advocacy.NASE.org. The State of the Union address can be found on the White House Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/. Alito Confirmed, Sworn In As Associate Justice Samuel Alito was confirmed to be the 110th Supreme Court justice yesterday and was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts just hours before the State of the Union address. One Republican, Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), voted against Alito and only four Democrats voted for the confirmation in the 58-42 vote. It was the smallest number of opposing party confirmation votes in modern history. “Sam Alito is a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench,” President Bush said after the vote. “He is a man of deep character and integrity, and he will make all Americans proud as a justice on our highest court.” Former Cabinet Secretary Addresses Health Care Costs Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson called for a nationwide shift to preventative health care methods and better health information technology at a Washington, D.C., health care conference last week. Thompson said that the amount this country spends on health care will double to nearly $4 trillion without drastic action to prevent such chronic diseases as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. He called on employers to help with these preventative health care maneuvers to help their bottom line. Thompson stated, for example, that employers should raise junk food prices in company cafeterias and encourage exercise. He pointed out that the health care sector is the only one to rely on outdated paper methods for record keeping. Improvements in health technology would improve medical treatment as well, according to Thompson. The NASE supports preventative medical precautions and improvements in health information technology. For more information on the NASE position, visit http://advocacy.NASE.org. Member Poll: Looking Back at 2005 With a new year ahead, many business owners take the time to evaluate the previous year and determine their business strategy for the year ahead. Tell the NASE how you your business fared in 2005 in this month’s online poll. Let the NASE know your opinions by visiting the MyNASE Web site at http://my.NASE.org/. Log in to your free MyNASE Web Account. If you have not set up an account, you can do so at http://my.NASE.org/ with your member number. Let your voice be heard in the association by taking this survey during the month of January.