[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.''
____________________