The Latino Coalition urges caution on Healthcare Reform  -- 

The Latino Coalition (TLC), a Hispanic small business advocacy group has joined other civic, business and public policy organizations in questioning the scope, cost and proposed implementation of President Barack Obama's endorsed Health Care Reform Bill, H.R. 3200, currently being debated in Congress. An announcement released by TLC states that, “Amid the concerns raised by such an expansive piece of legislation -redirecting approximately

1/6 of our national economy and adding a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated 1 trillion ($1,042 billion) dollars to the existing budget deficit over the next decade - TLC's, Hector V. Barreto, reiterated the many serious misgivings expressed by America's Hispanic small business owner community.”

"Much has been said about the gigantic promise made by this legislation to bring healthcare coverage to virtually all of the roughly 42 million individuals in America who today lack it. But our empathy for these individuals would be woefully misplaced if the solution proposed to address their plight places an impossible burden on the backbone of our economy, that is, America's small and medium-size business owners," Barreto declared.

The 1,017-page Health Care Reform bill is being moved quickly through review by Members of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives over the strong objections of Blue Dog Democrats -those who represent moderate or conservative leaning districts- and Republican legislators. Barreto echoes these misgivings and urges extreme due diligence on this landmark legislation. "Elected officials would be doing their constituents a great disservice if they continue on a path of rushing H.R. 3200 through Congress, not only because of its gigantic scope, but also because of the present state of our economy. With national unemployment at virtually 10 percent, depressed consumption and production, and negative economic growth, this is not the time to be fanciful or to play politics with our diminished tax base."

Barreto also expressed TLC's rejection of any proposed legislation that would contain these provisions to ostensibly address our nation's Health Care coverage and cost structure problems:

• Health care rationing to covered individuals
• Diminished quality of care, or so called 'cost- benefit' care, to patients
• Universal coverage achieved through unpaid costs or through tax increases that impact our nation's small business owners
• Health Care Reform achieved at the cost of trillions of dollars that future generations will have to pay

The Latino Coalition (TLC) was founded in 1995 by a group of Hispanic business owners from across the country to research and develop policies relevant to Latinos. TLC is a non-profit nationwide organization based in Irvine, CA, with offices in Washington, DC and Mexico.