[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 54 (Thursday, April 3, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SAVE AMERICAN WORKERS ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 2, 2014

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, as I have said since the law was passed, 
parts of the Affordable Care Act need to be improved or fixed. The 
employer mandate is no exception. For example employers in many 
sectors, from farmers to municipalities, face unacceptable uncertainty 
surrounding the definition of seasonal and part time workers. The 
federal government needs to provide clear guidance to these employers. 
As some Senators have proposed, I also support giving businesses with 
between 50 and 100 full time employees the option to either provide 
employer sponsored insurance or have their employees buy plans on the 
individual exchange. Instead of focusing on reasonable reforms like 
these, Republican House leadership today brought up H.R. 2575, a bill 
that the President has already promised to veto.
  H.R. 2575 would not provide any more certainty to employers with 
seasonal workers. It would not give businesses with between 50 and 100 
full time employees any more flexibility with regard to how their 
employees get insurance. What it would do, according to the 
Congressional Budget Office, is increase the deficit by $73 billion. It 
would also increase the number of uninsured Americans. For these 
reasons, I voted against the bill. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass real fixes to the ACA 
that will make the law work better for consumers and employers alike.

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