Bill Text: NJ AR198 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Congress to repeal the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-11-18 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [AR198 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-AR198-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ERIK PETERSON
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Congress to repeal the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the United States Congress to repeal the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."
Whereas, The federal "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Pub.L.111-148, also called "Obamacare," was enacted into law on March 23, 2010, and was amended by the federal "Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010," Pub.L.111-152, enacted into law on March 30, 2010; and
Whereas, The most significant provisions of the law are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2014, including the unfunded mandate that individuals buy health insurance and most employers pay for health insurance for their employees; and
Whereas, Several public opinion polls have found that a majority of Americans do not support Obamacare, including a July 2013 poll by The Morning Consult that found 67 percent of respondents oppose the individual mandate and 77 percent favor delaying or repealing it, including 65 percent of Democrats; and
Whereas, A letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, signed by the presidents of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and UNITE-HERE, which are three of the nation's largest unions, warns that Obamacare will "shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class"; and
Whereas, The union leaders warn that Obamacare's employer mandate incentivizes companies to shift their workers to part-time status, because employers will not be required to provide health coverage to part-time workers; and
Whereas, Reducing employees' hours to fewer than 30 hours per week denies these workers both a living wage that they would have earned and their current health benefits; and
Whereas, Obamacare may also incentivize small employers that currently offer multi-employer plans, also called Taft-Hartley plans, to drop coverage and shift their employees to the health insurance exchanges, which would eliminate unions' roles in health benefits negotiations and give employees less reason to join a union; and
Whereas, So-called "Cadillac plans" enjoyed as a benefit of many union members, including New Jersey State employees and other middle class people, will be subject to and required to pay a "luxury tax" on those plans; and
Whereas, Due to Obamacare, the "basic and essential" plans that provide affordable health insurance coverage to approximately 106,000 New Jersey residents will be eliminated in 2014; and
Whereas, Beginning in 2014, individuals who had "basic and essential" coverage will be required to buy more expensive coverage; and
Whereas, The United States House of Representatives has approved several bills that would repeal, defund, or render unenforceable various provisions of Obamacare, including the "Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013," which passed the House on August 2, 2013; and
Whereas, It is in the best interests of the citizens of the State of New Jersey and this great nation to memorialize the United States Congress to repeal Obamacare; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The United States Congress is respectfully memorialized to repeal the federal "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Pub.L.111-148, along with the health care-related language of the "Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010," Pub.L.111-152, also known as "Obamacare."
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and every member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This Assembly Resolution urges the United States Congress to repeal the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," also known as "Obamacare."
On January 1, 2014, many of the most significant provisions of Obamacare, including the individual and employer mandates, are scheduled to take effect. These provisions are also some of the most unpopular and most potentially damaging, as shown by public opinion polls and statements by employers and union leaders. The law will undermine employment by encouraging employers to reduce workers' hours, and will weaken worker benefits by incentivizing employers to shift employees to the health insurance exchanges. Obamacare will also make health insurance more expensive for at least 100,000 New Jersey residents who currently have "basic and essential" coverage, which is being eliminated as a consequence of the law.
