DALLAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Hon. WILBUR MILLS, Chairman, Ways and Means Committee, Dear Mr. CHAIRMAN: I have been directed by the board of directors of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce to transmit to you the enclosed resolution, with the request that it be incorporated at an appropriate place in the hearings. Sincerely, DALE MILLER RESOLUTION OF THE DALLAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OPPOSING COMPULSORY HEALTH INSURANCE Whereas legislative proposals are pending in the Congress to establish compulsory health insurance under the Social Security Act, namely, H.R. 4222 and S. 909; and Whereas some of the opponents of such legislation advocate instead that Federal grants-in-aid be made to the States to provide health insurance for the aged; and Whereas medical care for the needy aged (currently provided under the Kerr-Mills law), and for blind, dependent children, and the permanent and totally disabled is already provided through Federal-State programs; and Whereas the proposals for compulsory health insurance are not based on need but would force the wealthy and the low-wage earner, the young and the old alike, whenever they perform labor covered by the act, to contribute a portion of thir earnings, in the form of social security taxes, to a compulsory health plan; and Whereas any such program might be changed, at the will of the Congress, many times before the contributors attain the age which would make them eligible for the compulsory health insurance program's benefits; and Whereas at present the State governments, through licensing and other regulation, prescribe minimum standards which must be met by physicians, dentists, hospitals, and others who offer health-care services to the public competitively; and Whereas compulsory health insurance under the Social Security Act would (1) involve determination by Federal agencies of criteria for medical-dentalhospital services which could be used, and (2) control, directly or indirectly, the payments for such services; and Whereas, if governmental authority is to make the rules and also control payment for services, the danger of socialized medicine becomes real: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the board of directors of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce express opposition to H.R. 4222 and S. 909, now pending in the Congress, and to any other bill which may be introduced or substituted for them, to establish a compulsory health insurance program under the Social Security Act, and to proposed substitute programs of Federal grants-in-aid to the States. HAVRE, MONT., June 26, 1961. Hon. WILBUR D. MILLS, Chairman, Ways and Means Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C'. DEAR SIR: Enclosed you will find a copy of the resolution pased by the Montana Junior Chamber of Commerce at their State convention in Great Falls, Mont., on May 26, 1961. Please enter this resolution in the record of committee hearings. We, of the Montana Junior Chamber of Commerce, still believe that laissezfaire type government is the best type of government. We also feel that your committee should know that Montanans can look after themselves, particularly our older citizens. My personal feeling is that the Kerr-Mills bill is also usurping the Constitution but so many bills of this type have been passed in the past that the populace is completely numb to their ultimate consequence. Sincerely, W. A. RADER. RESOLUTION No. 9 OF THE MONTANA JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Whereas we the Montana Junior Chamber of Commerce have adopted the Jaycee creed as our firm belief and purpose; and Whereas a line in this creed states that "we believe that economic justice can best be won by free men through free enterprise"; and Whereas it is not only a right but it is our duty to support, practice, and promote the ideals laid down in this creed; and Whereas the King bill is the beginning of socialized medicine and means additional taxation for all; and Whereas the King bill (H.R. 4222), if enacted, would inevitably and admittedly further control men and further control enterprise: Therefore be it Resolved, That we oppose the enactment of this bill or any like bill which will lead to further control of our free enterprise system, and also tend to kill pride of profession, skill, and intellectual initiative in medicine; be it further Resolved, That we request by letter, to the members of the Montana congressional delegation to actively support our cause; and be it further Resolved, That the Montana Junior Chamber of Commerce present this resolution at the next national junior chamber convention for their consideration and adoption. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, Hon. WILBUR MILLS, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Mr. J. D. Henderson, national managing director, American Association of Small Business, Inc., of New Orleans, La., has asked that I forward his enclosed statement on H.R. 4222 for inclusion in the record of hearings on this legislation. Sincerely, HALE BOGGS, Member of Congress. TESTIMONY OF J. D. HENDERSON, NATIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SMALL BUSINESS, INC., WASHINGTON, D.C. My name is Joseph D. Henderson. I am the national managing director of the American Association of Small Business, Inc., a national organization which had its inception during 1941 and received its charter February 20, 1942. We were organized in New Orleans, La., and our membership has spread throughout the country. At this time we are working in all States of the Union, including the District of Columbia. We send our material to newspapers throughout the country, each U.S. Senator and Members of the House of Representatives in Washington. We also contact State Governors, State legislatures, municipal councils, and other public bodies. We have made many statements in testifying before committees of the Congress, departments or agencies of the Federal Government, State legislatures, public boards, and city councils. We support legislation beneficial to all small businesses and our members in particular, and we likewise oppose legislation which is detrimental. We render services to small businesses and individuals, helping them to go into business, stay in business, secure sources of supplies and material, funds to operate the business and for expansion purposes. There is no service too large or small for the American Association of Small Business, Inc., to undertake for one of its members. All a member has to do is to tell us about his problem and we do our utmost to help solve it. We are a service organization and we endeavor to encourage small businesses to patronize each other, work together so that they may expand, and become as big as their initiative, ability, and energy will permit. We are now working in a field of over 45 million individuals engaged in small businesses and professions. We are conducting a public relations service dedicated to keeping small business in business. H.R. 4222 is a bad bill and should not be approved by the members of the House Ways and Means Committee. One of the objectives of the American Association of Small Business, Inc., is "stopping inflation, socialism, and communism in the United States." According to the Congressional Record, President Kennedy, in his message to Congress, described his proposal for hospital and nursing home care for the aged as "a program of prepayment of health cost." Now this is just some more socialistic sirup to soothe the taxpayers and anesthetize them so that they can be milked more and more by additional taxation, call it whatever name you please. While the President attempts to present "a program of prepayment of health cost," other agencies of the Government and the Congress have held that social security contributions are out-and-out taxes. Not long ago I read where an Amish farmer in Pennsylvania refused to pay his individual social security tax. In the final analysis he was required to pay the social security tax, and the Federal Government took his horses and sold them to satisfy the Government claim. Now does this look like a voluntary social security contribution or "a program of prepayment of health costs"? Small businesses throughout the Nation are having a very difficult time collecting taxes for the Government, filling in many forms, remitting taxes collected to the Internal Revenue Service, and complying with other bureaucratic requirements. According to informed sources, the tax take at the present time out of every dollar earned is approximately 30 percent. The social security tax take will soon be 9 percent of the payroll, regardless of whether half is paid by the employee and half by the employer. The end result is that the employer has to turn over to the Federal Government the total amount of social security taxation. Therefore, the small businesses, professional firms, and individually employed citizens will soon be paying approximately 40 percent in taxes. Now under a Presidential "program of prepayment of health cost" all the working people in our country will be expected to increase the social security tax by one-half of 1 percent. Soon there will be another half, and another half. The President stated in his inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Are businessmen, professional firms, self-employed, and ultimate consumers expected to suffer through a long siege of perpetual tax on tax and tax increases and say nothing about it? The proposed plan presented by H.R. 4222, in the opinion of millions of people throughout the country, is not necessary. Furthermore, there are a number of laws now in effect which take care of the situation presented by H.R. 4222 in a much more satisfactory and equitable manner. Millions of individual employees and employers will be forced into a socialistic scheme, which will lead to socialized medicine with all of its wasteful giveaway possibilities. It is possible that the general public of the United States does not realize that the social security tax collected by the Government is spent as fast as it is received. The sum of $22 billion being mentioned as the social security trust fund is merely a book entry. Every time the Government wants to pay a new claim for social security it has to rush out and sell some more Government bonds. Any other organization operated in the same manner as the Federal Government would be bankrupt and the officers and directors would be in the penitentiary. The definition of capital punishment is "when the Government taxes you to get capital to go into business in competition with you, and then taxes your profit in order to pay its own business losses." This is also a very good definition of socialism. Should H.R. 4222 be enacted into law it will be the beginning of socialized medicine in this country. At the present time the medical profession is performing an excellent task in caring for our citizens in all age brackets. The medical profession contributes millions of dollars in charitable work to our economy each year. The trend to socialism and communism in this country is following in the pattern set forth over 100 years ago when Karl Marx, the prophet of communism, wrote his book, "The Communist Manifesto," in which he set forth the 10 commandments of communism. We are listing them here for your ready reference. Karl Marx 10-point manifesto: (1) Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. (2) A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. (3) Abolition of all right of inheritance. (4) Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. (5) Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. (6) Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. (7) Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. (8) Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. (9) Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of population over the country. (10) Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production. Just below we have listed the evident fulfillments of the proposals made by Karl Marx, which are now in operation in this Nation. How much more communistic activity can you discover? Fulfillment of Karl Marx proposals now in operation in this Nation: (1) 25 percent of land area of United States is owned by Federal Government. (2) 16th amendment to U.S. Constitution, authorizing confiscatory taxation without limit. (3) Heavy inheritance tax, limited gifts to potential heirs. (4) Alien Property Custodian Act passed by Congress October 6, 1917. Eminent domain laws. (5) Federal Reserve banks; national banks and branches; repeal of the gold standard; social security; unemployment security; old-age benefits; drug, hospital, and medical care. (6) Interstate Commerce Commission; monopolistic national unions protected by Federal law. (7) Federal Government engaged in over 1,900 competitive businesses, TVA and other programs, all of which could be operated by free enterprise. (8) Farm land bank; urban development; subsidized farms; postal service; shipping; surplus crops and commodities. (9) Ride the national highways and note how one town ends and another begins. (10) We have compulsory integrated school attendance in all States, trade and industrial schools, and child labor laws. Cuba, Mexico, some Latin American countries and other nations are reported to be drifting to communism. The appeal communism has for the masses is greed for gain by taking away from him who has and giving to him who has not. This same appeal has been introduced into our free enterprise profit system by the New Deal, Fair Deal, liberals and the leftist movement in this country. What can we do about it? We can vote for conservative politicians and when they are elected help to keep them conservative by not putting pressure on them to appropriate more money than can be collected in taxes. By living within our means, discontinuing the wage and price spiral and the international giveaway programs. And now, Mr. Chairman, and gentlemen of this committee, I urgently request that you do not approve H.R. 4222. Thank you for this opportunity to present my statement. STATEMENT ON HOSPITAL INSURANCE OF PENSIONED EMPLOYEES OF BELL SYSTEM COMPANIES H.R. 4222 would provide protection against the cost of certain hospital and other health care to persons who have reached the age of 65 and are entitled to benefits under the old age and survivors insurance program or under the railroad retirement system. The costs would be borne by persons paying social security taxes. Our purpose in presenting this statement is to suggest that there is a large portion of the population over the age of 65 who are now providing comparable protection for themselves and may prefer to continue to do so. If these people were provided protection under social security they would, in all probability, discontinue paying for their present protection and shift the burden of cost to the taxpayers under social security. We therefore present the following facts as to persons who are retired from employment with Bell System companies, more than 60 percent of whom are over the age of 65. SUMMARY Increasing numbers and proportions of pensioners of Bell System companies Yare continuing to subscribe for hospitalization insurance after retirement of a pension allotment basis. In August 1954, 53 percent of them were doing su In August 1959, 65 percent and in May 1961, 68 percent. (The current number of pensioners reflected in these percentages is 58,641, with 39,633 subscribing i Spouses generally are covered along with the pensioner. In addition, sample checks have indicated that another 10 to 15 percent of pensioners may have hospitalization insurance under a spouse's policy or under other policies not counted in the 68 percent. Surgical policies are somewhat less popular, with 59 percent now subscribing on a pension allotment basis. Over and above these "basic" plans, nearly all employees with over 6 months' service and all retired employees of Bell companies and their spouses are now covered by extraordinary medical expense plans paid for by the Bell companies. Under these EME plans, a pensioner and spouse after retirement can receive up to $2,500 each for medical expenses which would not be payable under basic hospital or surgical plans. BACKRGOUND INFORMATION For many years, employees of Bell System companies have been able to subscribe for Blue Cross and Blue Shield coverage on a payroll allotment basis, except that in a comparatively few places other hospitalization and surgical plans have been substituted on a payroll allotment basis. Since 1948, employees of most of these companies who were subscribers at retirement have been able to continue their subscriptions by making allotments from their pensions. This is now true of all Bell companies except for employees of Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. and Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. where due to the great diversity of health plans, pension allotments have seemed impractical. No count of postretirement coverage is possible in these two companies but in general retired employees are known to continue coverage on a direct pay basis. (The total system numbers and percentages in the summary exclude these two companies. In addition to the other Bell operating subsidiaries they include the A.T. & T. Co., General Departments, Western Electric, Bell Laboratories and also the Southern New England Telephone Co. and the Cincinnati & Suburban Bell Telephone Co.) In all cases except Delaware, the cost of continued membership remains the same as for employees, and in all cases except New Jersey, the terms of the plans are as liberal after retirement as before retirement. Under Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, and under most of the insured plans involved, widows or widowers of Bell Co. employees and retired employees can continue coverage after death of the spouse on an individual payment basis. There are no figures to indicate how many do so but the Bell companies customarily notify them of their eligibility. There probably still are comparatively small numbers of Bell Co. retired empoyees who did not have an opportunity to subscribe for hospitalization insurance before retirement and who have not had an opportunity to do so on a group basis since retirement. But some of the Bell companies have been able to arrange an opportunity for all retired employees. In all probability, there will always be a small percentage of employees and retired employees who will choose not to subscribe, because they feel no need for the coverage, because they consider it unduly expensive, or because they feel they cannot afford it. But so far as the Bell companies are concerned, the problems of coverage of retired employees and their spouses for hospital and surgical insurance is approaching equality of solution with the problems of persons in active employment. |