[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 5 (Thursday, January 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E29]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PROTECTING VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MIKE KELLY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 8, 2014

  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my good 
friend and fellow Representative from Pennsylvania, Lou Barletta, for 
introducing this legislation that is so vital to the safety of millions 
of people across our state and our country.
  Merriam-Webster defines a volunteer as ``a person who does work 
without getting paid to do it.'' It defines an employee as ``a person 
who works for another person or company for wages or salary.'' Yet the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), defying these clear definitions and 
common sense, considers volunteer firefighters to be employees and has 
not clarified whether or not they are subject to the employer mandate 
under President Obama's health care law.
  In Butler Township, back home in Western Pennsylvania, more than 
17,000 people rely on approximately 130 volunteer firefighters to keep 
that community safe. Ed Kirkwood, the manager of Butler Township, has 
stated that by his calculations, taxes in Butler Township would have to 
be more than doubled to comply with the federal mandate and maintain 
all of Butler's volunteer firefighters.
  I've spoken time and again about how the unintended consequences of 
the president's health care law will hurt Americans. In this particular 
instance, it threatens to bankrupt communities and endanger the public 
all because the IRS doesn't know the meaning of what it is to be a 
volunteer firefighter. This is unacceptable. It must be changed, and 
Mr. Barletta's bill, H.R. 3685--the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters 
and Emergency Responders Act--will do just that. I give my emphatic 
support to this bill and ask that the IRS correct its definition of 
volunteerism before Pennsylvania communities which rely on these heroes 
have to pay for its lack of common sense.

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