[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 54 (Thursday, April 3, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SAVE AMERICAN WORKERS ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 2, 2014

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
2575, the Save American Workers Act. This bipartisan legislation is 
urgently needed to address yet another poorly-conceived provision of 
Obamacare that will harm American workers and further slow economic 
growth.
   Under Obamacare, ``full-time'' work is defined as a 30-hour work 
week--a quarter less than the traditional 40 hour work week. Because 
the law imposes certain penalties on businesses based upon their number 
of full-time employees, many businesses are forced to move a number of 
their employees from full-time to part-time work. This is a dangerous 
and fundamental change that will result in less hours and lower 
paychecks, affecting millions of Americans who plan their budget around 
the traditional 40-hour work week.
   We cannot continue down a path that disincentivizes full-time 
employment, yet this is exactly where we are headed. While part-time 
work is a great option for many, it should not be the norm for those 
who have the desire and ability to work full-time. There is a serious 
problem when the government creates a complicated regulatory maze that 
increases inefficiency and incentivizes businesses to reduce their 
full-time workforce. As a Chicago Tribune editorial stated, ``[p]art-
time work does become a problem when Washington tilts the balance of 
incentives against full-time work. Not only will Obamacare raise costs 
for the government, it stands to make one of the most competitive 
features of the U.S. economy--a flexible labor market--less efficient. 
One more reason to rewrite, or halt, Obamacare.''
   Obamacare was sold to the American people with affordability as its 
centerpiece. We were promised time and time again that ``if you like 
your plan, you can keep it,'' and ``if you like your doctor, you can 
keep your doctor.'' Instead, reports of sticker-shock and mass 
cancellations of plans have been the norm. Many are finding that their 
preferred doctor is now out-of-network and thus out of their coverage. 
A recent survey conducted by the Associated Press found that many of 
our nation's world-class cancer hospitals are off-limits to those with 
certain insurance carriers.
   Now, in addition, workers are seeing their hours cut and their 
paychecks lowered. A recent study by the Hoover Institution found that 
2.6 million workers are vulnerable to work hour reductions under 30-
hour work week definition--with women and low-income Americans 
especially vulnerable. Last August, a township in my district cut the 
hours of 25 employees due to the new definition. My colleagues and I 
continue to hear from our constituents from both sides--those who 
cannot afford to keep full-time workers, and those who have had their 
hours reduced.
   Last July, the leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters 
(IBT), the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union 
(UFCW), and UNITE HERE sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry 
Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warning that Obamacare 
could ``destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the 
backbone of the American middle class.'' The letter states that ``[t]he 
unintended consequences of the ACA are severe. Perverse incentives are 
already creating nightmare scenarios.'' Further, ``[n]umerous employers 
have begun to cut workers' hours to avoid this obligation, and many of 
them are doing so openly.'' They stressed the same point we have 
stressed here today: ``[t]he impact is two-fold: fewer hours means less 
pay while also losing our current health benefits.''
   This commonsense legislation we are voting on today will simply 
restore the definition of full-time employment to its traditional 40 
hour work week. I have long believed that the federal government must 
play an appropriate role in providing a health care safety net for 
those in need of support. That goal can be achieved without the 
burdensome rules, regulations, and definitions imposed by Obamacare 
such as the one addressed today.

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