[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 79 (Tuesday, June 21, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            AN EMPLOYER MANDATE IS A MANDATE FOR DESTRUCTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the gentleman from New Jersey 
[Mr. Saxton] is recognized during morning business for 4 minutes.
  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, if Congress enacts President Clinton's 
employer mandate, forcing all small businesses to fund health care 
reform, two things will happen.
  One, millions of jobs will be lost.
  And two, American workers earnings will fall.
  If Members do not want to take my word for this, maybe we should take 
a look at what other people are saying about the effects of an employer 
mandate on jobs.
  In fact, several weeks ago, I requested that the Republican staff of 
the Joint Economic Committee look into what other people are saying 
about an employer mandate that forces small business to pay for its 
employees' health care and the resulting effects on jobs.
  I am happy to report that this afternoon I will be releasing the 
study the GOP-JEC staff conducted.
  The report, entitled ``A Mandate for Destruction: Survey of Job and 
Wage Destruction That Will Result From Requiring Employers To Pay for 
Workers' Health Insurance,'' examines 41 different studies of the 
Clinton health care proposal and particularly the effects of employer 
mandates on jobs and wages.
  In fact, all economists agree that an employer mandate will raise the 
cost of labor, aside from making us less competitive in the world 
market. Firms will have to shift as much of the mandated costs back 
onto workers in the form of lower wages as possible. And, to the extent 
that they are unable to shift the cost increase back to employees in 
the form of reduced wages, they will hire fewer workers and in some 
cases lay off others.
  Thus, employers and employees face a nasty trade off--job destruction 
or wage reduction.
  The JEC staff analyzed over 40 studies that vary widely in their 
methodologies and assumptions yet their findings are consistent and 
unambiguous. Employer mandates kill jobs--a lot of them.
  And as many of the reports show, it is the lowest wage earners who 
are most at risk of losing their jobs.
  As the chart shows, estimated job losses range from a low of 600,000 
to a high of 3.8 million, with an average probable loss of 1.0 million 
jobs and an average potential loss of 2.1 million jobs.
  The Clinton administration itself admits that as many as 600,000 jobs 
could be lost. And we all know that if the White House is willing to 
admit this amount, that the true impact on jobs must be much higher.
  Specifically, one of the studies in the JEC-GOP survey broke out 
estimates of the effects on a State-by-State basis and found, for 
example, that in 1998 New Jersey would lose 32,200 jobs, $3.6 billion 
in wages and benefits, and $520 in income per person.
  In addition, the State of California conducted a study that concluded 
that the job loss in California from the Clinton health care mandate 
would be so severe that job loss would exceed all the California jobs 
lost from defense cuts and would postpone the California economic 
recovery for years.
  And, the study finds that forcing all employers to pay insurance 
would reduce wages--a lot--with a the middle class taking a big hit. 
Americans making between $14,000 and $30,000 per year stand to suffer 
most of the estimated wage reductions from an employer mandate by 
losing $1,450 a year, on average.
  The verdict is in and the evidence is clear and convincing. Beyond a 
reasonable doubt that forced employer paid health insurance is a wage 
batterer and a job killer.
  Madam Speaker, later today, I will be submitting a summary of this 
study in the part of the Congressional Record for Extensions of 
Remarks.

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