Date: 2014-04-03
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman very much for yielding. Madam Speaker. I rise to oppose H.R. 2575. The majoritys obsession with attacking the Affordable Care Act is unprecedented. and they have never let the truth stand in their way. Todays bill is no exception. Lets call this bill for what it really is. It is a big favor to millionaires and billionaires at the expense of working families. This legislation is perfect for the owners and CEOs of big. lowwage companies like Walmart and McDonalds. It says that you can have your employees work 30. 35. 39 hours a week without providing one iota of health care coverage. That is a great deal for the Walton family. which already has a net worth of nearly $145 billionone family. $145 billion. And that is a great deal for the CEO of McDonalds. who makes $9.200 an hour. But it is a terrible deal for Americas workers. It means that not a penny of the revenues from these hugely profitable companies will go toward supporting health insurance for the bulk of their workers. All the while those employees continue to make as little is $7.25 an hour. and it means that the American taxpayers will be stuck with picking up the tab. The Republicans have decided to bring this bill to the floor even though they have no payfor. which means that this is a very pure form of deficit spending. You are incurring $75 billion worth of expenses for the taxpayers. and you have no way to pay for it. But rather than have these companies provide health insurance to their workers. you are willing to add it to the deficit of the United States for the next 40 or 50 years. I remember when that party stood for deficit reduction. Now it is deficit creation. It is deficit creation. So lets get it straight so everyone can understand: The American people will be paying $75 billion more so that the likes of Walmart dont have to provide their employees with health care. Walmart made $16 billion in profits last year. Target made $2 billion in profits. McDonalds made more than $5 billion in profits. And they cant afford to provide hourly employees with health care? Give me a break. And all of this to solve a problem that doesnt exist. Because lets be clear: there is nothing in the Affordable Care Act that forces an employer to cut workers hours. In fact. the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office stated: There is no compelling evidence that parttime employment has increased as a result of the Affordable Care Act. So. to benefit the richest of the rich. the Republicans want to pass this bill. The very week that we learned that more than 10 million people have gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act. the Republicans want to strip a million people of their employerbased health coverage. tossing them into government programs and leaving the rest uninsured. and having the taxpayers pick up the bill. And this is all while the Republicans continue to block a minimumwage increase for these very same workersa minimumwage increase that Goldman Sachs says will give the economy "a bigger than usual" boost. But they are not going to vote for the minimumwage increase. is what they tell us. So what are they going to do instead? They are going to continue to stand on the throat of the American economy because all over this country where we have raised the minimum wage in cities. States. and towns. small businesses are hiring. There are more customers on Main Street. But they are not going to allow that to happen nationwide. Instead. they are going to provide $75 billion of new deficits for these businesses who pay their taxes. for these workers who pay their taxes. Then they will continue to block unemployment insurance. another boost to the economy. People with unemployment insurance that has run outand if we extend itthey will spend that money immediately because they have to take care of their families and they have to pay their rent. these are customers on Main Street. but Republicans are not going to do that. Economists left and right tell us one of the biggest boosts to the American economy is immigration reform. but they are not going to do that. They are not going to give our economy that boost. but they are going to add $75 billion to the deficit. but they are not going to let somebody have food stamps for the deficit. They are not going to let somebody have health care for the deficit. but they are going to reward the big employers for throwing people off their health care rolls. This is some plan you have for America. This is some plan you have for working families. Clearly. when the newspapers and the editorial boards accuse you of doing nothing in Washington. they misread you. You are doing great harm to the budget. you are doing great harm to health care. and you are doing great harm to these lowincome workers. but you are doing a great favor for the richest of the rich in this country.