[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 102 (Thursday, June 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4929-H4931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1300
                   BROADER OPTIONS FOR AMERICANS ACT

  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 379, I call up 
the bill (H.R. 2579) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA 
continuation coverage, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 379, the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
Ways and Means, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, as 
amended, is considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                               H.R. 2579

       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 ``Broader Options for 
     Americans Act''.

     SEC. 2. PREMIUM TAX CREDIT ALLOWED WITH RESPECT TO 
                   UNSUBSIDIZED COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE.

       (a) In General.--Section 36B(f) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 is amended--
       (1) by inserting after ``in section 9832(b))'' the 
     following: ``offered in the individual health insurance 
     market within a State (within the meaning of section 
     5000A(f)(1)(C)), or any unsubsidized COBRA continuation 
     coverage,'', and
       (2) by striking paragraph (1) and by redesignating 
     paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (1), (2), 
     (3), and (4), respectively.
       (b) Certification of Unsubsidized COBRA Continuation 
     Coverage.--Section 36B(g) of such Code is amended by 
     redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10) and by 
     inserting after paragraph (8) the following new paragraph:
       ``(9) Special rule for unsubsidized cobra continuation 
     coverage.--In the case of unsubsidized COBRA continuation 
     coverage--
       ``(A) subsection (d)(1) shall be applied by substituting 
     `COBRA continuation coverage which is certified by the plan 
     administrator (as defined in section 414(g)) of the group 
     health plan' for `health insurance coverage which is 
     certified by the State in which such insurance is offered', 
     and
       ``(B) the requirements of paragraph (8) shall be treated as 
     satisfied if the certification meets such requirements as the 
     Secretary may provide.''.
       (c) Unsubsidized COBRA Continuation Coverage.--Section 36B 
     of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new subsection:
       ``(h) Unsubsidized COBRA Continuation Coverage.--For 
     purposes of this section--
       ``(1) In general.--The term `unsubsidized COBRA 
     continuation coverage' means COBRA continuation coverage the 
     payment of applicable premiums (as defined in section 
     4980B(f)(4)) for which is solely the obligation of the 
     taxpayer.
       ``(2) COBRA continuation coverage.--The term `COBRA 
     continuation coverage' means continuation coverage provided--
       ``(A) pursuant to part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the 
     Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (other than 
     under sections 602(5) and 609), title XXII of the Public 
     Health Service Act, section 4980B (other than subsection 
     (f)(1) thereof insofar as it relates to pediatric vaccines), 
     or section 8905a of title 5, United States Code,
       ``(B) under a State law or program that provides coverage 
     comparable to coverage described in subparagraph (A), or
       ``(C) under a group health plan that is a church plan (as 
     defined in section 414(e)) and is comparable to coverage 
     provided pursuant to section 4980B.

     Such term shall not include coverage under a health flexible 
     spending arrangement.''.
       (d) Conforming Amendment.--
       (1) Section 36B(d)(2)(A) is amended by inserting ``COBRA 
     continuation coverage or'' after ``other than''.
       (2) Section 36B(g)(6) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``subsection (f)(5)'' and inserting ``subsection (f)(4)''.
       (e) Amendment of Section 36B as Amended by American Health 
     Care Act of 2017.--Whenever in this section an amendment is 
     expressed in terms of an amendment to section 36B of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the reference shall be 
     considered to be made to such section as amended by the 
     American Health Care Act of 2017 and in effect for months 
     beginning after December 31, 2019.
       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     are contingent upon the enactment of the American Health Care 
     Act of 2017 and shall apply (if at all) to months beginning 
     after December 31, 2019, in taxable years ending after such 
     date.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi) and the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TIBERI. 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 the bill currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to add my thoughts and prayers for our 
colleague and friend, Congressman Steve Scalise, and the victims of 
yesterday's shooting. May God be with them during this time.
  Mr. Speaker, my bill, Broader Options for Americans Act, is before us 
today.
  We have all heard about COBRA continuation coverage, which allows 
someone with group health insurance who experiences a qualifying life 
event to keep their job-based coverage when they no longer have a job 
and, most importantly, their plan's networks of providers--doctors, 
hospitals, et cetera--for a certain amount of time.
  Currently, consumers with COBRA coverage, who could face a cost of up 
to 102 percent of plan costs, are not eligible for ObamaCare's Federal 
subsidies. My bill allows individuals who pay for the full cost of such 
continuation of coverage to qualify for the tax credit established 
under the American Health Care Act.
  This allows those consumers, including clergy, church lay workers, 
and their dependents who are experiencing similar circumstances and who 
get their coverage through church plans, who have been affected by 
sudden life changes to receive assistance to pay for their unsubsidized 
health premiums.
  This bill represents another step forward in our continuing work to 
help Americans access more options for true patient-centered 
healthcare.
  Mr. Speaker, this hits close to home for me. As a high school 
student, my dad lost his job of 25 years. I think the gentleman from 
Massachusetts has heard that story before. We, as a family, lost our 
healthcare and went into COBRA coverage.
  This is a solution that impacts people across America, and I urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this legislation today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to express again, as I did earlier, the support 
we have for the Capitol Police and others for the good work they do 
every single day and extend our best wishes to Majority Whip Scalise.
  My friend, Mr. Tiberi, who is managing time on the Republican side, 
said he was, I think, 17 years old. If he were here and had supported 
the Clinton healthcare bill, that never would have happened. That would 
be another way that we might want to look at.
  Mr. Speaker, as I said a bit ago, this is an unusual procedure. We 
are being asked to amend legislation that left the institution. Heaven 
knows where the Republican healthcare bill rests today. The President 
calls it mean; the Senate won't tell us where they are, as they write 
the bill, and when it might emerge; and we find ourselves offering 
amendments to something that is not going to happen.
  H.R. 2579, the Broader Options for Americans Act, would allow premium 
tax credits to be used for unsubsidized COBRA coverage under TrumpCare. 
Unfortunately, this does nothing to fix the AHCA, the underlying 
measure this bill intends to amend.
  Older Americans are likely to rely on COBRA, and the AHCA would allow 
insurers to charge older Americans up to five times more than they 
charge younger Americans. The tax credits in H.R. 2579 would not make 
COBRA coverage any more affordable for the American people. In 
addition, it could potentially weaken the risk pool coverage because it 
would encourage older and sicker workers to remain on COBRA that could 
hurt small businesses. This is simply a backdoor way for States to 
discriminate against existing conditions.
  Because of weakening essential healthcare in the underlying

[[Page H4930]]

TrumpCare bill, COBRA is going to be needed again to help people who 
leave employment for health reasons or have preexisting conditions.
  Let me remind the American people how we got here in the first place. 
Last month, Republicans brought TrumpCare to the House floor and passed 
it without a single Democrat supporting it. The measure, as passed, 
would take away health insurance for millions of Americans, raise 
premiums for working families, and place an age tax on older Americans.
  The bill is just one of the many promises the Republican leadership 
continues to make in an effort to twist arms for votes from their 
caucus to pass TrumpCare.
  I am also concerned that the House ignored important procedures when 
considering bills that are on the floor today.
  First, since the Republican bill passed, the CBO numbers confirmed 
the measure would force Americans to pay more for lower quality 
healthcare coverage. That is not in dispute.
  Second, this bill is not appropriate to consider now because it 
amends TrumpCare, and it hasn't even passed the Senate.
  Even if this bill was incorporated into TrumpCare, it would not undo 
the terrible cuts included in the measure. It would leave 23 million 
Americans without health insurance, cut Medicaid by $800 billion, 
discriminate against individuals with preexisting conditions; and will 
drastically raise premiums for older Americans.
  It would unravel important consumer protections or cut programs 
designed to address the opioid addiction crisis in my State of 
Massachusetts, and throughout the Nation. I am quite certain everyone 
here and watching this debate has someone close to them dealing with a 
drug or alcohol addiction.

  In addition, many middle class Americans rely on Medicaid for long-
term care. That is beginning to resonate with the American people.
  This bill does nothing to fix the Republican repeal measure, as I 
have noted, and it is likely to create more and new problems.
  I encourage my Republican friends and colleagues to go back to the 
drawing board, craft a bill with us, and fix the problems in the 
Affordable Care Act. There is a chance to do that.
  Twenty-three million more Americans have health insurance because of 
the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Now is not the time to retreat. 
In times like this, we should be advancing these arguments in this 
institution for hardworking Americans and their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, on a personal basis, I have a tremendous amount of love 
and respect for Mr. Neal.
  We, obviously, have a disagreement. I tell my daughters about how a 
bill becomes law, and I don't need to tell the gentleman from 
Massachusetts how a bill becomes law, but we certainly, I think, 
believe that there are opportunities to not only improve what you say 
is the Affordable Care Act but the bill that we passed. That is what we 
are doing today.
  I hope to work with him to continue to do that, as the Senate passes 
its own bill, and, hopefully, go to a conference committee. Hopefully, 
the gentleman will be on that conference committee.
  Mr. NEAL. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. TIBERI. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.
  Mr. NEAL. What is a conference committee? When is the last time one 
of those occurred in this institution?
  Mr. TIBERI. Reclaiming my time, not lately. Two years ago.
  One of the frustrations about the CBO report that never gets reported 
is the fact that millions of people will choose not to have healthcare. 
That is what the CBO says.
  It is not often repeated in the national media or on the floor here, 
but I would just kind of remind everybody that, often, the other side 
of the aisle speaks a lot about choice and the freedom to choose. And 
with respect to healthcare, that is what millions of people will do, 
according to CBO.
  I would also like to remind my friend--and I do mean that--that there 
are millions of Americans in my State alone who have insurance but 
don't have the choice of provider they once had or the choice of a 
hospital they once had. That is pretty traumatic.
  There are people who have insurance, but premiums have doubled and 
tripled in the last several years and out-of-pocket expenses for those 
who are not subsidized have gone to levels that are unprecedented.
  I surely appreciate and would remind the gentleman from Massachusetts 
that this bill before us today simply says that we expand choices, we 
expand options for Americans by allowing them for the very first time 
to receive financial assistance if they lose their healthcare 
insurance.
  I know it is not perfect, but it is good. I hope that we can improve 
on all these aspects that the gentleman and I have talked about today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania). All time for 
debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 379, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 267, 
nays 144, not voting 19, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 308]

                               YEAS--267

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bera
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Brownley (CA)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Bustos
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carbajal
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cohen
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Correa
     Costa
     Costello (PA)
     Courtney
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Crist
     Cuellar
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     DeFazio
     Delaney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes (KS)
     Esty (CT)
     Farenthold
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foster
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gibbs
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gottheimer
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Harper
     Hartzler
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Himes
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (OH)
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kihuen
     Kind
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     Lawson (FL)
     Lewis (MN)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lynch
     MacArthur
     Maloney, Sean
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Murphy (FL)
     Murphy (PA)
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Nunes
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Rice (NY)
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rosen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Royce (CA)
     Ruiz
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Sanford
     Schneider
     Schweikert
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shea-Porter
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Sinema
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Suozzi
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg

[[Page H4931]]


     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yarmuth
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--144

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Beyer
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Crowley
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Nadler
     Neal
     Nolan
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Sherman
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--19

     Blunt Rochester
     Cole
     Cummings
     Gohmert
     Harris
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson, Sam
     Labrador
     Napolitano
     Norcross
     Payne
     Reed
     Rouzer
     Scalise
     Simpson
     Vela
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Weber (TX)

                              {time}  1340

  Messrs. CICILLINE, CONYERS, HECK, and BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico 
changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. CORREA, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Messrs. LYNCH, COHEN, and BISHOP of 
Georgia changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, June 15, 2017, I was unable to 
vote on rollcall No. 308: Passage of H.R. 2579, ``Broader Options for 
Americans Act.'' Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''
  Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, June 15, I was absent from 
votes on account of attending funeral, and had I been present, I would 
have voted as follows: Rollcall No. 308--``yea.''

                          ____________________