Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) President and CEO Kirk Pickerel today issued the following statement in reaction to the inclusion of Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-Ore.) construction industry amendment language into the Manager’s Amendment to H.R. 3590, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The health care legislation generally exempts employers with fewer than 50 employees from the fines levied on those who cannot afford to provide their employees with the federal minimum standard of health insurance. The Merkley amendment language singles out the construction industry by altering the exemption so that it applies to only those firms with fewer than five employees.

“Excluding small construction firms from the small business exemptions in the healthcare bill is irresponsible and economically disastrous,” said Pickerel.

“At a time when our industry is facing the worst construction economy in decades, the last thing contractors need are vast new mandates from the federal government dictating to them how they will run their businesses.”
 
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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 79 chapters representing 25,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with two million employees. Visit us at www.abc.org.