[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 28, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              REJECT EMPLOYER MANDATES AND TRIGGER OPTIONS

  (Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming. Mr. Speaker, the story about the bear was 
tough. It was grizzly.
  I want to talk about health care actually. I want to talk about the 
debate in health care reform. As it continues, national attention has 
turned to employer mandates.
  Republicans oppose employer mandates because of their adverse effect 
on small businesses, because they will cost millions of jobs, and 
because they translate into a payroll tax.
  The President supports employer mandates because he believes they 
will lead to universal coverage. Democrats in Congress are divided, but 
many are intrigued by the concept of triggers.
  Triggers are a form of mandates that go into effect when certain 
standards are not met in future years. But a trigger is an employer 
mandate by a different name. An employer mandate by any name hurts 
small business just as hard.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject the employer mandates of 
the President's plan and the trigger options of other plans. We can 
reform our health care system without killing our small business 
sector.

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