[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 16 (Wednesday, February 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                HEALTH CARE REFORM JOB PRESERVATION ACT

                                 ______


                           HON. DEAN A. GALLO

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 23, 1994

  Mr. GALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to support 
a bill that I am introducing jointly with our distinguished colleague, 
Representative Jan Meyers from Kansas--the Health Care Reform Jobs 
Preservation Act.
  Too frequently, Members of Congress pass legislation without knowing 
what impact these changes will have on U.S. jobs. As Congress begins 
reforming our health care system, it is imperative that Members of 
Congress and the President be fully informed of the impact any health 
care reform measure will have on U.S. jobs.
  That is why I am introducing this legislation--to provide Members of 
Congress and the President with information at least as important as 
whether a payroll tax should be on or off budget, and that is ``how 
will reforming the health care system impact American workers.''
  The bill states that before any comprehensive health care reform 
takes effect a job impact study will be done by CBO and OMB determining 
the effect of health care reform on job loss or gain, impact on jobs 
requiring lesser levels of education or skill, shifts from full-time to 
part-time employment, and a decrease in wages or salaries.
  I plan to offer this bill as an amendment to any health care reform 
plan considered in the House this session, because without a stable job 
base health care reform will fail.
  In 1991, Congress passed legislation to raise the luxury tax on boats 
without information on how the increase would impact boating industry 
jobs. Not until virtually killing this industry did Congress, 18 months 
after it was enacted, repeal the luxury tax. In that short time, 
thousands of skilled American jobs were lost to other countries, and 
the tax even failed to raise anywhere near the revenue that was 
promised by supporters.
  I fear a repeat of the luxury tax nightmare, but this time, in an 
area of our economy as large as health care, it would be even more 
disastrous.
  I am asking this critical question because we cannot act in good 
conscience on reform without an answer to what will happen to American 
workers--and they deserve to know the truth. We know, for instance, 
that when you overtax small businesses investment capital to these 
important job-generating companies dry up, leaving no alternative but 
to lay people off.
  The Congressional Budget Office routinely assesses the impact of new 
laws on revenues, but the same importance is not afforded to jobs 
impact. As we learned with the boat tax, no revenue estimate is 
complete without the knowledge of who will lose their jobs if Congress 
makes the wrong decision.
  Mr. Speaker, health care reform will affect every American in one way 
or another and Americans deserve to know the truth. Unless we pass my 
legislation, we risk blindly moving forward with legislation that could 
put hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Health Care Reform Preservation 
Act so that Congress and the President will be fully aware of possible 
job loss and shifts in reforming the health care system.

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