Congress is returning to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, September 8, with healthcare reform staring them in the face. It's been a scorching summer in more ways than one, but there's one piece of legislation that should get a quick pass.

H.R. 3014, introduced by Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-Pa.) and co-sponsored by seven Democratic members of the House of Representatives in late June, seeks to amend the Small Business Act to allow loan guarantees so eligible professionals in solo and small group practices can purchase health IT that demonstrates "meaningful use."

If passed, the Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act, which calls for loans of up to $350,000 for solo practitioners and $2 million for small group practices, would be overseen by the Small Business Administration. The American Academy of Family Physicians supports the bill, which was referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Dahlkemper is the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Regulations and Healthcare.

H.R. 3014 is a straightforward bill that levels the playing field for small practices that can't afford upfront costs for hardware and software, training, office reengineering and workflow disruption. It's an easy bill for the House, Senate and President Obama to get behind. And it must be done soon.

To qualify for meaningful use of health IT, providers' IT systems need to be doing data collection in 2011. Reimbursement bonuses under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 begin in 2011, as well. Physicians need to implement these health IT systems now, and the solo practitioners and small practice physicians need the immediate help that H.R. 3014 can provide.

Let's get this bill signed into law so Congress can tackle the more complex issues of healthcare and healthcare insurance reform.