"You're left standing out in the cold because the cost of health care is prohibitively expensive. If an employer doesn't cover your care, it's simply too expensive to buy a plan on the open market. And if you are covered, you lack the choice and control you need and deserve.

"The system must change...beginning with affordable health insurance for every hardworking American who wants to own a plan. That's why I'm committed to passing Association Health Plans."

Speaking to the Farm Bureau Convention, Jan. 8, 2006

“Under the leadership of Chairman Enzi, the Senate has taken a vital step towards making health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans.

"This landmark bipartisan bill will allow small businesses to band together and use their collective purchasing power to ensure affordable health insurance coverage for their employees. This bill will strengthen coverage for the over one million Tennesseans employed by small businesses.

"I look forward to bringing this legislation to the Senate floor for a vote in the near future.”

Statement made March 15, 2006, after the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved S. 1955, the "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act of 2005"