[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 529]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, under the Affordable Care 
Act's employer mandate, volunteer organizations with 50 or more 
employees could be forced to provide health insurance or pay penalties. 
This could decimate the financial solvency of firefighting 
organizations across my home State and the country.
  I, along with colleagues from the House and Senate, have pushed to 
have the Internal Revenue Service clarify this situation. Last month I 
joined with Pennsylvania Representative Lou Barletta, along with 30 
other colleagues, on the introduction of legislation that would ensure 
these volunteers are not counted as full-time employees under the ACA.
  As a result of these efforts, on Friday, January 10, the IRS 
announced they will not be considering volunteer firefighters as 
employees for purposes of the law. While the IRS announcement is a huge 
step in the right direction, that does not make the decision final. The 
devil always tends to be in the details.
  Mr. Speaker, this cloud of uncertainty for our volunteers and the 
populations they protect must be removed. With that said, I look 
forward to reviewing the final ruling and will work to ensure there is 
certainty provided in a timely fashion.

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