Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/5211

 12 2 STA T .5 1 8 8 CON C UR R E NT RESO L UT I ONS —J UNE 5 , 2 0 08 SEC.516 .SE N SE OFTH E CON GR ESS ON L ONG - TER MBUD GET I NG. Itis t he se n se of the C on gr ess th a t the d eter m ination of the c ongressiona lbu dget for the U nited S tates G o v ernment and the P resident ’ s budget re q uest should include consideration of the F inancial R e p ort of the United States Government , especiall y its information regarding the Government’s net operating cost, finan - cial position, and long-term liabilities . SEC. 51 7 . SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REG A RDING AFFORDABLE HEALTH CO V ERAGE. It is the sense of the Congress that —(1) nearly 47 million A mericans, including nine million children, lac k health insurance ( 2 ) people w ithout health insurance are more likely to e x perience problems getting medical care and to be hospitali z ed for avoidable health problems; ( 3 ) most Americans receive health coverage through their employers, and a ma j or issue facing all employers is the rising cost of health insurance; (4) small businesses, which have generated most of the new jobs annually over the last decade, have an especially difficult time affording health coverage, because of higher administrative costs and fewer people over whom to spread the risk of catastrophic costs; ( 5 ) because it is especially costly for small businesses to provide health coverage, their employees make up a large proportion of the N ation’s uninsured individuals; and ( 6 ) legislation consistent with the pay-as-you-go principle should be adopted that makes health insurance more affordable and accessible, with attention to the special circumstances affecting employees of small businesses, and that lowers costs and improves the quality of health care by encouraging integra- tion of health information technology tools into the practice of medicine, by expanding comparative effectiveness research, and by promoting improvements in disease management and disease prevention. SEC. 51 8 . SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING P A Y PARITY. It is the sense of the Congress that rates of compensation for civilian employees of the United States should be adjusted at the same time, and in the same proportion, as are rates of compensation for members of the uniformed services. SEC. 51 9 . SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING SUBPRIME LENDING AND FORECLOSURES. It is the sense of the Congress that— (1) over the last six months, the Nation has experienced a significant increase in the number of homeowners facing the risk of foreclosure with estimates of as many as 2. 8 million subprime and other distressed borrowers facing the loss of their homes over the next five years; (2) the rise in foreclosures not only has an immediate, devastating impact on homeowners and their families, but it also has ripple effects— (A) local communities experiencing high levels of fore- closures experience deterioration as a result of the large number of vacant foreclosed and abandoned homes;

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