[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 91 (Thursday, July 14, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           STOP! DON'T SHOOT!

  (Mr. HASTERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, Stop. Don't shoot.
  That is the message Republicans are sending to President Clinton 
regarding the employer mandate on small businesses.
  The President's employer mandate is a gun aimed at the heart of many 
struggling small companies in America. And despite the President's 
assurances, the mandate will not even achieve the goal of universal 
coverage.
  Some experts now refer to triggers as a possible solution to the 
employer mandate problem. But a trigger is a mandate at a later time. 
Instead of shooting small businesses today, the trigger would shoot 
small businesses some time in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, the employer mandate is a bad idea. It means an 8 
percent payroll tax for each employee. It will kill at least a million 
jobs. And it will hurt economic expansion.
  I urge the President to discard his employer mandate and work with 
the Republicans towards a common sense approach to health care reform. 
Don't shoot our small businesses, with or without our finger on the 
trigger.

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