Much of the business community is celebrating the death of health care reform, which their Washington-based lobbyists worked hard to kill.
Many say the plan, as envisioned by President Clinton and amended by Congress, died because it was just too ambitious and would have cost businesses too much.
"The administration and the Congress finally realize that small-business owners are serious about wanting health care reform, (but) not revolution," says Jack Faris, president of the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents small businesses.
NFIB was one of the leading voices of opposition, but companies big and small joined the chorus, concerned that employers would bear the cost for health care reform.
Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, Monday abandoned efforts to pass a health care bill this year. He concluded it was impossible to pass even a scaled-back bill before Congress adjourns for the year next month.
Some reactions:
-- Stanley Gault, chairman of Goodyear. "Goodyear applauds the responsible action of Congress in not trying to handle this extremely complex issue in the limited time remaining in this session," he says. Goodyear supports the idea of universal health care, but "our concerns are for quality, access and who will pay the cost."
-- Bill Cook, owner of Crafts City, a store in Mesa, Ariz. "It was just too expensive. Business today is marginal at best. I just couldn't afford it," he says. "I hate to say I was hoping the bill would go down. I was hoping they would find a way to make it palatable."
-- National Association of Manufacturers. "We need health care reform but this wasn't the way to do it," says Sharon Canner, NAM's chief health care lobbyist. Canner says her membership was against last-minute legislation. "They wanted to put it to bed."
Not everyone cheered. U.S. automakers had been supportive of President Clinton's health care plans. "We're disappointed, but this was expected," says Chrysler spokesman John Guiniven.
And Dennis Riese, whose company owns 200 franchised restaurants in the Northeast, says he had been hoping for some kind of reform.
"I admit I was concerned about the costs, but I was hopeful there was a compromise ahead," he says. "If we don't push for health care reform, our society pays the cost of people who become ill. That's also a cost for a businessman."
