Rep. David Dreier Holds a Meeting On Health Care Reform Repeal

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Rep. David Dreier Holds a Meeting On Health Care Reform Repeal

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON RULES MEETS TO FORMULATE A RULE ON H.R. 2, THE REPEALING THE JOB-KILLING HEALTH CARE LAW ACT AND H.RES. 9, INSTRUCTING CERTAIN COMMITTEES TO REPORT LEGISLATION REPLACING THE HEALTH CARE LAW

JANUARY 6, 2011

SPEAKERS: REP. DAVID DREIER, R-CALIF. CHAIRMAN REP. PETE SESSIONS, R-TEXAS REP. VIRGINIA FOXX, R-N.C. REP. ROB WOODALL, R-GA. REP. RICHARD NUGENT, R-FLA. REP. TIM SCOTT, R-S.C. REP. DANIEL WEBSTER, R-FLA.

REP. LOUISE M. SLAUGHTER, D-N.Y., RANKING MEMBER REP. JIM MCGOVERN, D-MASS. REP. ALCEE L. HASTINGS, D-FLA. REP. JARED POLIS, D-COLO.

WITNESSES: REP. JOHN KLINE, R-MINN.

REP. FRED UPTON, R-MICH.

REP. PETER T. KING, R-N.Y.

[*] DREIER: The Rules Committee will come to order. We are here for consideration of H.R. 2, the Repeal of the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, and H.Res. 9, instructing certain committees to report legislation replacing the job-killing health care law.

And we are very happy to welcome as our first witnesses the two very distinguished new chairs of their respective committees, the chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Mr. Kline, and the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Upton.

And, gentlemen, let me just say that this legislation has been written and introduced by Mr. Cantor, the repeal measure, and I've introduced the replace measure in response to a commitment that was made to immediately have an up-or-down vote on repeal of the health care bill and a very strong commitment that we made to deal with replacing this measure with some of the thoughtful proposals that came forward during debate, many of which are supported by President Obama and -- and other Democrats, as well.

So we welcome you here. And whatever remarks you have will be included in their entirety in the record that you have prepared. And we'd welcome a summary from you.

So why don't we begin with Chairman Kline?

KLINE: Thank you, Chairman Dreier. Good morning to you and Ranking Member Slaughter and members of the committee, many new members and new seats, kind of an exciting day.

I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of this legislation that reflects the wishes of the American people and repeals the disastrous government takeover of health care.

The Education and the Workforce Committee's interest in this legislation is primarily found in the provisions affecting employer- provided health care. With more than half of all non-elderly Americans receiving health care coverage through an employer-provided plan, these elements of the law are among the most consequential for individuals, families, and our economy. Numerous provisions of the law threaten job creation and economic growth, but few are as visible as the employer mandate. The law requires every employer with more than 50 workers to provide government-approved health care coverage. Those who do not or cannot afford to will be slapped with a penalty of $2,000 per worker beyond the first 30.

The potential for harm is obvious. This law is a job-killer. A small business with 50 employees would be penalized to the tune of $42,000 for hiring a 51st worker. One new worker, $42,000 in new costs. If they do not want to pay the penalty, they have the option of providing government-approved health care coverage, a proposition that could cost even more.

Hiring new workers will be more expensive, making it harder for job creators to put Americans back to work. The hiring disincentives are particularly strong for small employers hovering near the 50- worker penalty threshold. The law puts pressure on small business with fewer than 50 workers not to grow, and it pressures those with just over 50 workers to actually eliminate jobs.

The only way to avoid paying the penalty on workers is to provide government-approved health insurance. Not surprisingly, that's easier said than done.

President Obama famously and repeatedly promised the American people they could keep their health care if they liked it. Unfortunately, the regulators in his administration seem to have a different plan.

In June, the administration issued regulations on the so-called grandfather provision, the part of the bill that is supposed to protect current employer plans making them immune to the law's costly mandates and complex requirements. To the contrary, the regulations will increase employer costs, and the administration's own estimates indicate up to 69 percent of all employer plans are expected to lose grandfathered status by 2013.

The picture is worse for small businesses, up to 80 percent of which could lose their grandfather status and become subject to the law's costly new mandates. As a result, some estimates indicate 87 million Americans can expect to ...

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