[Vision2020] Fw: [Spam 9.16] Opinion Piece by Congressman Mike Simpson

[lfalen]

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From: "Idaho Republican Party" info at idgop.org
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:04:28 -0700
To: "" lfalen at turbonet.com
Subject: [Spam 9.16] Opinion Piece by Congressman Mike Simpson

Democrats? Healthcare Plan Attacks Small Business
By Congressman Mike Simpson

?After about a week of examining H.R. 3200, the Democrats? health care bill, I am only more convinced that it is not the solution to our health care crisis.  The proposal puts a huge burden on Idaho?s small businesses, passing along the enormous costs of the program to our chief job creators even as unemployment approaches double digits.  For months Democrats sang the praises of their plan, but their rhetoric has collided head-on with common sense, and support for their health care proposal is fading in Congress.  While there are some who maintain that the government-run health care plan, with its TRILLION-dollar price tag and its employer mandate, is the best option, many moderate Democrats and nearly every Republican opposes it.  
            
?It was the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan agency charged with providing Congress with unbiased budgetary information that revealed the TRILLION dollar cost of the plan.  Democrats have proposed to pay for it with a tax hike on those making $280,000 per year, 60% of whom are small business owners, and included burdensome requirements on all but the smallest employers. 

?These provisions are nothing short of an attack on small business in this country, and the pay-or-play mandate is the most egregious.  It would penalize any business with a payroll exceeding $400,000 a year (employing about five to nine people) that fails to provide health insurance for its workers.  The fine would be 8% of payroll.  What Democrats forget is that because health care costs have increased so dramatically, many small businesses simply cannot afford to offer coverage to all their employees.  In no way does this penalty help employers expand coverage; it will only punish those that cannot afford to offer government sanctioned plans.

?The pay-or-play mandate will reduce the hiring of minimum wage workers because their wages would not be able to decline sufficiently to meet the costs of the new tax. Simply put, workers would absorb the costs of the pay-or-play fee as wages are reduced or jobs are eliminated.  Fortunately, over the last few days, even Democrats in the Senate have begun to realize that the pay-or-play is terrible policy and are working to eliminate this harmful provision.  I hope my House colleagues will follow suit; however as of now I have seen no such efforts. 

?I am deeply concerned about rising health care costs for employers and consumers in Idaho.  As a former dentist, I am well aware of the challenges that our existing health care system faces.  Businesses large and small alike are struggling to provide health insurance for their employees.  Clearly, demanding that Idaho businesses provide health care coverage without giving them the tools to do so is not the answer.  History has shown that it is small businesses that have pulled our economy out of recessions in the past, and it should be no different now.  It is crucial that we resist attempts to place new anti-stimulative burdens and taxes on small businesses.  

?The reform proposal has little support from the right and has fractured the left.  Congress can and must do better.  There are ways to bring down cost and improve access to care for everyone while still avoiding the inefficiencies and colossal price tag of a government-run system, and avoid heavy-handed policies like a pay-or-play mandate.  A divided Congress is bound to fail.  It is time for Democrats to open the door to Republicans so we can come together to produce a workable, cost efficient solution.?  


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Subject: [Spam 9.16] Opinion Piece by Congressman Mike Simpson
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