[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4021-H4024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH CARE RELIEF ACT OF 2016

  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5447) to provide an exception from certain group health plan 
requirements for qualified small employer health reimbursement 
arrangements, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5447

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Health Care 
     Relief Act of 2016''.

     SEC. 2. EXCEPTION FROM GROUP HEALTH PLAN REQUIREMENTS FOR 
                   QUALIFIED SMALL EMPLOYER HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT 
                   ARRANGEMENTS.

       (a) Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the 
     Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.--
       (1) In general.--Section 9831 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(d) Exception for Qualified Small Employer Health 
     Reimbursement Arrangements.--
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this title (except as 
     provided in section 4980I(f)(4) and notwithstanding any other 
     provision of this title), the term `group health plan' shall 
     not include any qualified small employer health reimbursement 
     arrangement.
       ``(2) Qualified small employer health reimbursement 
     arrangement.--For purposes of this subsection--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified small employer 
     health reimbursement arrangement' means an arrangement 
     which--
       ``(i) is described in subparagraph (B), and
       ``(ii) is provided on the same terms to all eligible 
     employees of the eligible employer.
       ``(B) Arrangement described.--An arrangement is described 
     in this subparagraph if--
       ``(i) such arrangement is funded solely by an eligible 
     employer and no salary reduction contributions may be made 
     under such arrangement,
       ``(ii) such arrangement provides, after the employee 
     provides proof of coverage, for the payment of, or 
     reimbursement of, an eligible employee for expenses for 
     medical care (as defined in section 213(d)) incurred by the 
     eligible employee or the eligible employee's family members 
     (as determined under the terms of the arrangement), and
       ``(iii) the amount of payments and reimbursements described 
     in clause (ii) for any year do not exceed $5,130 ($10,260 in 
     the case of an arrangement that also provides for payments or 
     reimbursements for family members of the employee).
       ``(C) Certain variation permitted.--For purposes of 
     subparagraph (A)(ii), an arrangement shall not fail to be 
     treated as provided on the same terms to each eligible 
     employee merely because the employee's permitted benefits 
     under such arrangement vary in accordance with the variation 
     in the price of an insurance policy in the relevant 
     individual health insurance market based on--
       ``(i) the age of the eligible employee (and, in the case of 
     an arrangement which covers medical expenses of the eligible 
     employee's family members, the age of such family members), 
     or
       ``(ii) the number of family members of the eligible 
     employee the medical expenses of which are covered under such 
     arrangement.
     The variation permitted under the preceding sentence shall be 
     determined by reference to the same insurance policy with 
     respect to all eligible employees.
       ``(D) Rules relating to maximum dollar limitation.--
       ``(i) Amount prorated in certain cases.--In the case of an 
     individual who is not covered by an arrangement for the 
     entire year, the limitation under subparagraph (A)(iii) for 
     such year shall be an amount which bears the same ratio to 
     the amount which would (but for this clause) be in effect for 
     such individual for such year under subparagraph (A)(iii) as 
     the number of months for which such individual is covered by 
     the arrangement for such year bears to 12.
       ``(ii) Inflation adjustment.--In the case of any year 
     beginning after 2016, each of the dollar amounts in 
     subparagraph (A)(iii) shall be increased by an amount equal 
     to--

       ``(I) such dollar amount, multiplied by
       ``(II) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under 
     section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable 
     year begins, determined by substituting `calendar year 2015' 
     for `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.

     If any dollar amount increased under the preceding sentence 
     is not a multiple of $100, such dollar amount shall be 
     rounded to the next lowest multiple of $100.
       ``(3) Other definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
       ``(A) Eligible employee.--The term `eligible employee' 
     means any employee of an eligible employer, except that the 
     terms of the arrangement may exclude from consideration 
     employees described in any clause of section 105(h)(3)(B) 
     (applied by substituting `90 days' for `3 years' in clause 
     (i) thereof).
       ``(B) Eligible employer.--The term `eligible employer' 
     means an employer that--
       ``(i) is not an applicable large employer as defined in 
     section 4980H(c)(2), and
       ``(ii) does not offer a group health plan to any of its 
     employees.
       ``(C) Permitted benefit.--The term `permitted benefit' 
     means, with respect to any eligible employee, the maximum 
     dollar amount of payments and reimbursements which may be 
     made under the terms of the qualified small employer health 
     reimbursement arrangement for the year with respect to such 
     employee.
       ``(4) Notice.--
       ``(A) In general.--An employer funding a qualified small 
     employer health reimbursement arrangement for any year shall, 
     not later than 90 days before the beginning of such year (or, 
     in the case of an employee who is not eligible to participate 
     in the arrangement as of the beginning of such year, the date 
     on which such employee is first so eligible), provide a 
     written notice to each eligible employee which includes the 
     information described in subparagraph (B).
       ``(B) Contents of notice.--The notice required under 
     subparagraph (A) shall include each of the following:
       ``(i) A statement of the amount which would be such 
     eligible employee's permitted benefits under the arrangement 
     for the year.
       ``(ii) A statement that the eligible employee should 
     provide the information described in clause (i) to any health 
     insurance exchange to which the employee applies for advance 
     payment of the premium assistance tax credit.
       ``(iii) A statement that if the employee is not covered 
     under minimum essential coverage for any month the employee 
     may be subject to tax under section 5000A for such month and 
     reimbursements under the arrangement may be includible in 
     gross income.''.
       (2) Limitation on exclusion from gross income.--Section 106 
     of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g) Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement 
     Arrangement.--For purposes of this section and section 105, 
     payments or reimbursements from a qualified small employer 
     health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in section 
     9831(d)) of an individual for medical care (as defined in 
     section 213(d)) shall not be treated as paid or reimbursed 
     under employer-provided coverage for medical expenses under 
     an accident or health plan if for the month in which such 
     medical care is provided the individual does not have minimum 
     essential coverage (within the meaning of section 
     5000A(f)).''.
       (3) Coordination with health insurance premium credit.--
     Section 36B(c) of such Code is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Special rules for qualified small employer health 
     reimbursement arrangements.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `coverage month' shall not 
     include any month with respect to an employee (or any spouse 
     or dependent of such employee) if for such month the employee 
     is provided a qualified small employer health reimbursement 
     arrangement which constitutes affordable coverage.
       ``(B) Denial of double benefit.--In the case of any 
     employee who is provided a qualified small employer health 
     reimbursement arrangement for any coverage month (determined 
     without regard to subparagraph (A)), the credit otherwise 
     allowable under subsection (a) to the taxpayer for such month 
     shall be reduced (but not below zero) by the amount described 
     in subparagraph (C)(i)(II) for such month.
       ``(C) Affordable coverage.--For purposes of subparagraph 
     (A), a qualified small employer health reimbursement 
     arrangement shall be treated as constituting affordable 
     coverage for a month if--
       ``(i) the excess of--

       ``(I) the amount that would be paid by the employee as the 
     premium for such month for self-only coverage under the 
     second lowest cost silver plan offered in the relevant 
     individual health insurance market, over
       ``(II) \1/12\ of the employee's permitted benefit (as 
     defined in section 9831(d)(3)(C)) under such arrangement, 
     does not exceed--

       ``(ii) \1/12\ of 9.5 percent of the employee's household 
     income.
       ``(D) Qualified small employer health reimbursement 
     arrangement.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
     `qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement' 
     has the meaning given such term by section 9831(d)(2).
       ``(E) Coverage for less than entire year.--In the case of 
     an employee who is provided a qualified small employer health 
     reimbursement arrangement for less than an entire year, 
     subparagraph (C)(i)(II) shall be applied by substituting `the 
     number of months during the year for which such arrangement 
     was provided' for `12'.
       ``(F) Indexing.--In the case of plan years beginning in any 
     calendar year after 2014, the Secretary shall adjust the 9.5 
     percent amount under subparagraph (C)(ii) in the same manner 
     as the percentages are adjusted under subsection 
     (b)(3)(A)(ii).''.
       (4) Application of excise tax on high cost employer-
     sponsored health coverage.--
       (A) In general.--Section 4980I(f)(4) of such Code is 
     amended by adding at the end the following: ``Section 
     9831(d)(1) shall not apply for purposes of this section.''.
       (B) Determination of cost of coverage.--Section 4980I(d)(2) 
     of such Code is amended by

[[Page H4022]]

     redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E) and by 
     inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new 
     subparagraph:
       ``(D) Qualified small employer health reimbursement 
     arrangements.--In the case of applicable employer-sponsored 
     coverage consisting of coverage under any qualified small 
     employer health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in 
     section 9831(d)(2)), the cost of coverage shall be equal to 
     the amount described in section 6051(a)(15).''.
       (5) Enforcement of notice requirement.--Section 6652 of 
     such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(o) Failure To Provide Notices With Respect To Qualified 
     Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements.--In the 
     case of each failure to provide a written notice as required 
     by section 9831(d)(4), unless it is shown that such failure 
     is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, there 
     shall be paid, on notice and demand of the Secretary and in 
     the same manner as tax, by the person failing to provide such 
     written notice, an amount equal to $50 per employee per 
     incident of failure to provide such notice, but the total 
     amount imposed on such person for all such failures during 
     any calendar year shall not exceed $2,500.''.
       (6) Reporting.--
       (A) W-2 reporting.--Section 6051(a) of such Code is amended 
     by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (13), by striking 
     the period at the end of paragraph (14) and inserting ``, 
     and'', and by inserting after paragraph (14) the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(15) the total amount of permitted benefit (as defined in 
     section 9831(d)(3)(C)) for the year under a qualified small 
     employer health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in 
     section 9831(d)(2)) with respect to the employee.''.
       (B) Information required to be provided by exchange subsidy 
     applicants.--Section 1411(b)(3) of the Patient Protection and 
     Affordable Care Act is amended by redesignating subparagraph 
     (B) as subparagraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph 
     (A) the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) Certain individual health insurance policies obtained 
     through small employers.--The amount of the enrollee's 
     permitted benefit (as defined in section 9831(d)(3)(C) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986) under a qualified small 
     employer health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in 
     section 9831(d)(2) of such Code).''.
       (7) Effective dates.--
       (A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     paragraph, the amendments made by this subsection shall apply 
     to years beginning after the earlier of--
       (i) the date that is 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, or
       (ii) December 31, 2016.
       (B) Transition relief.--The relief under Treasury Notice 
     2015-17 shall be treated as applying to any plan year 
     beginning on or before the date described in subparagraph 
     (A).
       (C) Coordination with health insurance premium credit.--The 
     amendments made by paragraph (3) shall apply to taxable years 
     beginning after the date described in subparagraph (A).
       (D) Employee notice.--The amendments made by paragraph (5) 
     shall apply to notices with respect to years beginning after 
     the date described in subparagraph (A).
       (E) W-2 reporting.--The amendments made by paragraph (6)(A) 
     shall apply to calendar years beginning after December 31, 
     2016.
       (F) Information provided by exchange subsidy applicants.--
       (i) In general.--The amendments made by paragraph (6)(B) 
     shall apply to applications for enrollment made after the 
     date described in subparagraph (A).
       (ii) Verification.--Verification under section 1411 of the 
     Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of information 
     provided under section 1411(b)(3)(B) of such Act shall apply 
     with respect to months beginning after October 2016.
       (8) Substantiation requirements.--The Secretary of the 
     Treasury (or his designee) may issue substantiation 
     requirements as necessary to carry out this subsection.
       (b) Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security 
     Act of 1974.--
       (1) In general.--Section 733(a)(1) of the Employee 
     Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
     1191b(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
     ``Such term shall not include any qualified small employer 
     health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in section 
     9831(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).''.
       (2) Exception from continuation coverage requirements, 
     etc.--Section 607(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1167(1)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following: ``Such term shall 
     not include any qualified small employer health reimbursement 
     arrangement (as defined in section 9831(d)(2) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986).''.
       (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
     shall apply to plan years beginning after the date described 
     in subsection (a)(7)(A).
       (c) Amendments to the Public Health Service Act.--
       (1) In general.--Section 2791(a)(1) of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-91(a)(1)) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following: ``Except for purposes of part C of 
     title XI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d et 
     seq.), such term shall not include any qualified small 
     employer health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in 
     section 9831(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).''.
       (2) Exception from continuation coverage requirements.--
     Section 2208(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300bb-8(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
     ``Such term shall not include any qualified small employer 
     health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in section 
     9831(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).''.
       (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
     shall apply to plan years beginning after the date described 
     in subsection (a)(7)(A).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Holding). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) and the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Levin) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5447, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to stand here before you to offer this 
bill.
  This is a very important bill, H.R. 5447, the Small Business Health 
Care Relief Act. It is bipartisan legislation that has been more than 2 
years in the making.
  Mr. Speaker, as a small-business owner and a heart surgeon, I 
understand how important coverage is to get good, high-quality health 
care. But I also understand, from the standpoint of being a small-
business owner, how difficult it often is and how expensive it has 
become to provide this kind of coverage for employees.
  In 2013, Treasury issued regulatory guidance indicating that any 
employer offering health reimbursement accounts, also known as HRAs, 
was in violation of the Affordable Care Act group health plan 
requirements, irrespective of the size of the employer. The very 
smallest of small businesses were affected by this, businesses that 
were trying to help their employees, doing the very best they can to 
help their employees have coverage.
  Furthermore, Treasury's guidance included an astronomically high 
penalty fine assessed on employers offering these HRAs: $100 per day 
per employee, with the potential of accruing a $36,500 fine per year 
per employee. This is just draconian treatment for small business.
  In my home State of Louisiana, small businesses--those with 50 or 
fewer employees--account for 72 percent of all businesses in Louisiana. 
Yet only about 30 percent of those small businesses offer a specific 
group health plan, often citing the full cost of group health plans as 
the reason for offering nothing. I am sure this is the case all around 
the country.
  We have to help small businesses and their employees afford good 
coverage.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful to my colleague from California, Mike 
Thompson, for working with me on this bill to give small-business 
owners an opportunity to financially assist their employees with their 
health costs.
  This legislation will be critical to ensuring that small businesses 
in Louisiana and around the country have an option that allows them to 
help their employees afford health coverage and costs. When 65 percent 
of those in Louisiana who are currently uninsured, indeed, have a full-
time worker in their household and nearly three-quarters of all 
employers in Louisiana are small businesses, it is clear we can do 
better. This is something that will actually help these small-business 
owners and their employees get affordable coverage.
  Mr. Speaker, the government must not penalize small-business owners 
for doing the right thing and trying to help employees with the high 
cost of healthcare coverage, so I urge swift passage of this 
legislation to empower our small-business owners.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1815

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  One of the reforms in the Affordable Care Act banned employer-
sponsored health plans from placing annual dollar limits on benefits 
paid by the plan to a beneficiary. This is good policy, as, for 
example, we don't want patients with

[[Page H4023]]

cancer finding out their insurance company only pays a set amount for 
their treatment and no more. But it has had the unintended effect of 
prohibiting stand-alone Health Reimbursement Arrangements because they 
are employer-sponsored health plans under which benefits are limited to 
a specified dollar amount.
  HRAs are typically used by beneficiaries for out-of-pocket medical 
expenses such as meeting an insurance plan's annual deductible or co-
pays for doctor and other medical provider visits. HRAs can also be 
used to pay for premiums for health insurance coverage.
  The bill before us would permit small employers to offer stand-alone 
HRAs to their employees, referred to as ``qualified small employer 
HRA.'' This bill would also permit the use of the qualified small 
employer HRAs to purchase coverage in the ACA's public marketplaces.
  I am pleased to see my Republican colleagues recognizing the benefit 
of the ACA marketplaces and coverage they offer to millions of 
Americans. This bill is yet another important way to support the ACA, 
ensuring more Americans have the health coverage and flexibility they 
need through the marketplaces. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to 
support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time, and I ask unanimous 
consent that the balance of my time be controlled by the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thompson), one of the sponsors of this bill, and a 
distinguished member of our committee.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), who is the chairman of the 
Physicians Caucus.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
Small Business Health Care Relief Act.
  I want to thank my colleagues, Dr. Boustany and Representative 
Thompson, for their leadership on this important issue. It is not very 
often that we have bipartisan legislation that will make a real 
difference in lowering healthcare costs for working families, and I am 
pleased to see this bill come to the House floor today.
  This legislation is a no-brainer. As a physician with more than 30 
years of experience, I have personally seen the need for commonsense 
reforms that will remove barriers to lower healthcare costs and give 
Americans more control over their own healthcare decisions.
  Because of the Affordable Care Act, I constantly hear from families 
who are paying higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs for less 
coverage and lower quality of care. I hear from small-business owners 
who desperately want to help their employees acquire health insurance, 
but face costly regulations that make it harder, if not impossible, for 
them to do so.
  Employers of all sizes are implementing innovative solutions to 
address the rising healthcare costs, and we should do everything we can 
to support those efforts. Unfortunately, misguided Federal rules too 
often stand in the way.
  Regulatory guidance issued by the IRS that penalizes small businesses 
who offer stand-alone Health Reimbursement Arrangements is a perfect 
example. HRAs are popular among both workers and employers. Employers 
offer HRAs to help their employees pay for health care. In return, 
families are provided greater flexibility and an opportunity to set 
aside pre-tax income for medical expenses.
  It simply doesn't make sense for the Federal Government to restrict a 
positive tool aimed at expanding access to affordable healthcare 
coverage. It is unconscionable that ObamaCare is penalizing small 
businesses for trying to do the right thing and alleviate the financial 
burden on working families.
  That is why this bill is so important. We need to encourage policies 
that empower every American with affordable coverage, provide more 
choice, and promote a healthy workforce. And I hope we can all agree 
that we should eliminate misguided rules that only make it harder for 
families and small businesses to obtain healthcare coverage they 
desperately need.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation which 
will restore the ability of small businesses to offer HRAs.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Small Business Health Care 
Relief Act, and I want to thank Dr. Boustany for working with me on 
this bill. As he pointed out, it is an important bill. It will help a 
lot of people, businessowners, workers, and families.
  The bill that we are considering today is the result of more than a 
year's worth of close collaboration between stakeholders and 
policymakers. It is bicameral, it is bipartisan, and it is supported by 
dozens of small businesses and small-business organizations across the 
country.
  Our Small Business Health Care Relief Act would allow small 
businesses with fewer than 50 employees, those companies that are not 
required to provide health care, to offer tax preferred Health 
Reimbursement Arrangements or HRAs. The HRAs can be used to buy health 
insurance in the individual market, or pay for qualified health 
expenses if an individual already has coverage.

  Historically, small businesses offered these funds to employees in 
lieu of group health plans. Most of these companies don't have the 
capacity to offer employer-sponsored coverage, so the HRAs served as 
health benefits for their workers.
  But right now, businesses are subject to this $100 per person per day 
fine that was mentioned earlier just for offering this help to their 
employees. This legislation clarifies that an HRA isn't a group health 
plan, but a means for helping individuals purchase a health plan for 
health services.
  There is no requirement, as I mentioned, for small companies of 50 or 
fewer people to provide health insurance. These employers don't offer 
health benefits because they have to, they do it to support their 
workforce. We shouldn't be penalizing responsible businessowners who 
are going above and beyond for their employees.
  Instead, we should arm small businesses with the tools that help them 
recruit great workers and put them on a level playing field with their 
larger competitors. And we should help to make sure that quality, 
comprehensive coverage is affordable for folks who don't have access to 
subsidies or employer-sponsored health care. This bill does all of 
that.
  Small businesses drive job creation. They grow our economy. We should 
be going out of our way to help them support their employees and focus 
on what they do best, running their business.
  And as was mentioned by our ranking member earlier, this is a prime 
example of how we should be conducting business in this House. We 
should be working across the aisle in a bipartisan measure. We should 
be building on the positive aspects of the Affordable Care Act, and 
this is an example of doing just that.
  Again, Dr. Boustany, thank you for your cooperation and your help and 
your good work on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Again, I want to thank my colleague, Mike Thompson from California, 
for his collaboration. I want to thank the Ways and Means staff for 
working with us to get this legislation done, working with the 
stakeholders.
  I also want to single out some of our staffers who really worked very 
hard on this: Melissa Gierach, Casey Badmington, and Lakecia Foster. 
Without their help, we could not have gotten all this put together and 
seen this legislation through, so I am deeply grateful for their 
efforts as well.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense change that will expand options, 
it will increase portability, it will protect small businesses, and it 
will end these harsh penalties that small businesses were encountering 
as they were trying to do the right thing. So I urge my colleagues to 
join me and support H.R. 5447.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following letters for 
the Record relating to H.R. 5447.

[[Page H4024]]

                                         House of Representatives,


                             Committee on Energy and Commerce,

                                    Washington, DC, June 13, 2016.
     Hon. Kevin Brady,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Brady: I write in regard to H.R. 5447, to 
     provide an exception from certain group health plan 
     requirements for qualified small employer health 
     reimbursement arrangements, which was referred in addition to 
     the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I wanted to notify you 
     that the Committee will forgo action on H.R. 5447 so that it 
     may proceed expeditiously to the House floor for 
     consideration.
       This is done with the understanding that the Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce's jurisdictional interests over this and 
     similar legislation are in no way diminished or altered. In 
     addition, the Committee reserves the right to seek conferees 
     on H.R. 5447 and requests your support when such a request is 
     made.
       I would appreciate your response confirming this 
     understanding with respect to H.R. 5447 and ask that a copy 
     of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the 
     Congressional Record during consideration of the bill on the 
     House floor.
       Sincerely,
                                                       Fred Upton,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                  Committee on Ways and Means,

                                    Washington, DC, June 13, 2016.
       Dear Chairman Upton: Thank you for your letter regarding 
     H.R. 5447, to provide an exception from certain group health 
     plan requirements for qualified small employer health 
     reimbursement arrangements. As you noted, the Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce was granted an additional referral of the 
     bill.
       I am most appreciative of your decision to waive formal 
     consideration of H.R. 5447 so that it may proceed 
     expeditiously to the House floor. I acknowledge that although 
     you waived formal consideration of the bill, the Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce is in no way waiving its jurisdiction 
     over the subject matter contained in those provisions of the 
     bill that fall within your Rule X jurisdiction. I would 
     support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate 
     number of conferees on any House-Senate conference involving 
     this legislation.
       I will include a copy of our letters in the Congressional 
     Record during consideration of this legislation on the House 
     floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Kevin Brady,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the 
           Workforce,
                                    Washington, DC, June 21, 2016.
     Hon. Kevin Brady,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to confirm our mutual 
     understanding with respect to H.R. 5447, the Small Business 
     Heath Care Relief Act. Thank you for consulting with the 
     Committee on Education and the Workforce with regard to H.R. 
     5447 on those matters within the Committee's jurisdiction.
       In the interest of expediting the House's consideration of 
     H.R. 5447, the Committee on Education and the Workforce will 
     forgo further consideration of this bill. However, I do so 
     only with the understanding this procedural route will not be 
     construed to prejudice my Committee's jurisdictional interest 
     and prerogatives on this bill or any other similar 
     legislation and will not be considered as precedent for 
     consideration of matters of jurisdictional interest to my 
     Committee in the future. Additionally, I appreciate your 
     committee's assistance with any additional improvements to 
     the bill within the jurisdiction of the Education and the 
     Workforce Committee.
       I respectfully request your support for the appointment of 
     outside conferees from the Committee on Education and the 
     Workforce should this bill or a similar bill be considered in 
     a conference with the Senate. I also request you include our 
     exchange of letters on this matter in the Committee Report on 
     H.R. 5447 and in the Congressional Record during 
     consideration of this bill on the House Floor. Thank you for 
     your attention to these matters.
           Sincerely,
                                                       John Kline,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                  Committee on Ways and Means,

                                    Washington, DC, June 21, 2016.
     Hon. John Kline,
     Chairman, Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Kline: Thank you for your letter regarding 
     H.R. 5447, the ``Small Business Health Care Relief Act.'' As 
     you noted, the Committee on Education and the Workforce was 
     granted an additional referral of the bill.
       I am most appreciative of your decision to waive formal 
     consideration of H.R. 5447 so that it may proceed 
     expeditiously to the House floor. I acknowledge that although 
     you waived formal consideration of the bill, the Committee on 
     Education and the Workforce is in no way waiving its 
     jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in those 
     provisions of the bill that fall within your Rule X 
     jurisdiction. I would support your effort to seek appointment 
     of an appropriate number of conferees on any House-Senate 
     conference involving this legislation.
       I will include a copy of our letters in the Congressional 
     Record during consideration of this legislation on the House 
     floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Kevin Brady,
                                                         Chairman.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5447, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________