WASHINGTON, D.C.– Wednesday evening, the House opened America’s New Congress by passing H.R. 22, the “Hire More Heroes Act of 2015.” Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02) spoke on the House Floor in support of the legislation and was an original cosponsor in the 113th Congress.

Click HERE to watch the Congresswoman’s remarks

 

The following are Congresswoman Jenkins’ prepared remarks:

“I thank the Gentlewoman for yielding.

“I was a freshman Member of Congress in 2010 when the President’s partisan health care law was forced through the House and Senate and became law. 

“I worried at the time that it took our healthcare system in the wrong direction and would lead to numerous unintended consequences that would hurt American families. Now that the law is being implemented, we can see that this was true.

“The Employer Mandate Penalty Tax is a troublesome and confusing piece of the President’s health care law. The American people want to see it fixed.  The legislation that we are debating right now will exempt those who employ Members our nation’s military and veterans from the Employer Mandate. 

“Because our current and former service members already receive health coverage from TRICARE and the VA, it simply does not make sense to force small businesses to treat these folks as though they do not have health insurance, driving up their cost of doing business and leaving less for employee salaries.  In fact, the current law effectively punishes small businesses for hiring these heroes.

“I was a proud cosponsor and supporter of this legislation in the last Congress, and I am proud to again stand on the House floor today in support of this common-sense provision.