Washington, D.C. -
Members of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee today held a hearing, “Obamcare’s Impact on Jobs,” to further investigate the law’s ramifications on small businesses, hiring, and our sluggish economy.
Rep. Gingrey spoke with small business owners from the 11th Congressional District recently to learn how President Obama’s health care law has affected the day-to-day operations of their companies. Obamacare has not even been fully implemented, but job creators and employees in Georgia and nationwide are already feeling the pain. Across the board, they expressed frustration with its new rules and “moving target” regulations, the increase in health care costs, and the uncertainty the law has created.
“We're afraid to grow,” said one business owner. “The lack of information is creating fear, and it's not good for the economy.”
Fact versus Fiction: President Obama’s promises in review
Claim: President Obama says health care law “strengthens businesses”
Fact: According to the Obama administration’s Office of Management and Budget, Obamacare will require American job creators, families, and health care providers to spend more than 127 million hours a year on compliance with the law.
One Georgia businesswoman has been forced to hold numerous meetings on company time for employees to help them understand the paperwork involved. Besides a loss in productivity, these new rules are costing her—she recently hired an outside health care law expert just to ensure she is running her company “by-the-books.”
Claim: President Obama claimed that, without the law, “More small businesses will be forced to choose between health care and hiring.”
Fact: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that 72 percent of small business executives would have a harder time hiring because of Obamacare. The employer mandate, which requires companies with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health care coverage, is a major obstacle to expansion. They simply cannot afford it.
One Georgia businessman, who employs 47 people, said that Obamacare has forced him to hire sub-contractors instead. Another owner, who employs 49 workers, recently purchased a robot instead of hiring new welders. Employers agreed these decisions are tough ones to make.
“I want to provide health insurance for my employees,” one Georgia woman said. “Obamacare has forced me to choose between that and hiring new people.”
Claim: President Obama said his health care law “brings down the cost of health care for families and businesses and the federal government.”
Fact: The law levies crippling taxes and penalties on middle class families and our nation’s job creators. Along with billions in new taxes, the law includes some of the most anti-growth provisions on the books.
For example, the medical device tax alone has already forced companies like Michigan-based Stryker Corp., to cut 1,000 jobs. Similarly, Boston Scientific canceled plans to build new facilities in the U.S., instead moving high-paying jobs and innovative research overseas.
Back home, the owner of a Kennesaw trucking company said, “Larger companies can afford to pay taxes and penalties, but I can’t. I don’t know what I’m going to do when 2014 rolls around.”
