U.S. Senate candidate Jim Talent has some unfinished business to tackle.

Unable to get his health insurance legislation passed through the Senate when he was a U.S. Representative, Talent promised that he would indeed get the act passed if he is elected to the Senate this November.

Talent, the former chairman of Congress' small business committee, made a campaign stop in Cape Girardeau Thursday, where he toured Horizon Printing and talked about issues that face small businesses.

Talent's Access and Choice for Entepreneurs Act (ACE), which passed in the House, calls for small businesses and the self-employed to create an association that would give them more purchasing clout like the large companies have.

Currently, Talent said, many insurance companies will not offer their services to small businesses and the ones that do have raised prices so high that they are not affordable.

The result of the act would cut small businesses' insurance costs at least 10 to 20 percent, Talent said.

Most of the political opposition to the bill is due to anxiety of the idea of bypassing the state's control to regulate health plans.

But Talent is certain he would be able to convince his colleagues to pass the bill if he was elected.

"I know I can get it passed if I can get there," he said.

Talent said there is opposition from Republicans and Democrats alike, but "there's so many things like this that ought to be bipartisan. This isn't about being a Democrat or Republican."

Talent, a Republican will be running against Democrat incumbent Jean Carnahan for Senate.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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