Obamacare is making our economy sick, but it is treatable

We can make happen what President Obama promised – but didn’t deliver. As those who control the U.S. Senate dither, critical issues are piling up, and the inaction is only hurting our economy and every American’s pocketbook. Despite the administration’s claims that the unemployment rate is headed south of 6 percent, when you include those workers who need a job but stopped looking or are underemployed, the real number of those who can’t find work is at least double that. A large part of that comes from the damage being done by the Affordable Care Act. Six years later, this law isn’t living up to its promises and the real-world consequences are not going away. In fact, they’re only going to get worse.  

The torrent of new regulations and policies that were created by Obamacare have increased costs for main street businesses and brought uncertainty – forcing businesses to lay off workers and slowing job creation. And yet, President Obama and the Democrats in Congress have refused to admit there are any problems with the law.

{mosads}There is a better way forward. I introduced legislation, The Small Business Fairness in Health Care Act, S. 2205, which would provide small businesses and their workers protection from some of the negative consequences of the health care law. This includes an exemption from the employer mandate for any company that meets the traditional Small Business Administration’s definition of “small business” compared to the narrowed and arbitrary definition created through the president’s health care law.

Created as a pillar of Obamacare, the employer mandate forces companies to provide insurance to their workers if they employ a certain number of individuals. But instead of helping employees, it has forced companies to cut hours their hours in order to limit their “penalty payments” under the employer mandate.

How would you like to have your paycheck cut by $800?  Well, it may have already happened. One study found that Obamacare is reducing employee compensation at small businesses by at least $22.6 billion annually, or an average of $935 for employees working a full year at a small business with 50-99 employees, and $827.50 for employees of small businesses with 20-49 employees. The study also found that the wave of new regulations has reduced employment by more than 350,000 jobs.

My Small Business Fairness in Health Care Act would also help address those reductions in pay and hours for workers by restoring the real definition of full-time work to 40 hours a week. A provision in the Affordable Care Act changed the definition of full-time work to 30 hours and the definition of part-time work to less than 30 hours. Jobs are on the line, and I believe that we must be willing to take on the problems in the health care law and not sit by while employers trying to comply with the law have to trim jobs or pay the penalty to survive. 

The American people send their representatives to Washington to address the important issues facing our country. They expect Congress to make difficult and often politically unpopular decisions, even at the expense of their own reelection.

That’s Congress’ job. Period. But sadly there are many issues that go unresolved when the Senate leadership makes it a priority to protect its members by eliminating politically tough votes. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid controls the votes. He refuses to let the Senate consider bills from the House that he doesn’t like. No votes on amendments, no debate – just a Senate on lockdown until after the November elections.

There’s an old saying that if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. For those who put their political careers ahead of solving our nation’s issues: if you can’t handle taking tough votes you’re in the wrong field.

It is my hope that both sides of the aisle can agree that we must take action and use some common sense to relieve the burdens on small businesses in Wyoming and across the country.  My bill will move us in the right direction, and I hope to work in a bipartisan way to repair the damage that is being done by Obamacare.

Enzi is Wyoming’s senior senator, serving since 1997. He sits on the Budget; the Finance; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship committees.