Health Care Repeal Passes House, But Law Remains for Now

The House voted 245 to 189 this week to repeal the health care law. The vote marked the first in a series of efforts by House Republicans to honor their pledge during the campaign season to replace last year’s law. The vote was followed today by a resolution formally authorizing four committees to begin work on crafting alternative health plan legislation.  AGC designated the repeal vote as a “Key Vote” that will be used in an annual scorecard indicating the level of support legislators give to the construction industry. The outlook in the Senate for any action on repeal legislation is dim, and odds of repeal are further diminished by a Presidential veto. Therefore, Republicans will now focus their efforts on unpeeling the health care law through hearings, funding cuts and targeting specific portions of the law in a piecemeal approach. In the coming weeks, House Republicans will focus on oversight investigations and hearings into the costs of the law, the mandates on employers and the cost to states. While Democrats and Republicans differ on many portions of the law, there has been some bipartisan support to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement that was included in last year’s health care bill. Beginning in 2012 the provision requires government, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes to file Form 1099s with the IRS when goods or services are purchased without a credit card from another business in excess of $600 in a year. AGC members are encouraged to contact their Representative in support of H.R. 4, a bill that would repeal this 1099 requirement, by using the Legislative Action Center. For more information, contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.