CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TARGETED IN SENATE HEALTHCARE BILL

As most members are probably aware, the U S Senate passed a healthcare package on Christmas eve by a straight party line vote of 60 – 39. Unlike the House bill, the Senate version of the healthcare package did not contain a public or federal government health insurance option, but did contain the employer mandates and vast tax increases ABC has opposed. Most notably, language known as the Merkley Amendment was added to the bill at the last minute. This language is specifically targeted at the construction industry and would eliminate construction firms from the small business exemption to the bill’s employer mandates (the bill is written so that any business with 50 employees or less is exempted from complying with the bill’s employer mandates). The Merkley language makes it so that any construction firm with 5 employees or more would have to comply with those mandates – a requirement applied to no other industry. Over the Christmas break ABC has been in contact with many people on Capitol Hill, including the offices of several Democrat Senators who have expressed a strong interest in working with us to have the language removed during the conference process. The House and Senate passed bills differ greatly and must be reconciled through a committee of conference process that is expected to last into February. ABC will continue to do everything possible to prevent this language from passing and will keep members informed of any developments on the health care reform package.