Nancy L. Johnson: “if an employer mandate were enacted, my State would lose 14,300 jobs. As we debate yet another mandate on America's…”

“if an employer mandate were enacted, my State would lose 14,300 jobs. As we debate yet another mandate on America's employers, let us not forget the real world implications of such mandates. I challenge each of my colleagues to find one government mandate that has not been expanded over time. Further, while many in this Congress have labored to describe the employer tax to pay 80 percent of premiums as anything other than a tax, I challenge each of my colleagues to find a tax on employers that hasn't grown with time. One need only look as far as the HI tax or the OASDI or FICA tax. Does anyone remember the temporary 2 percent surcharge for unemployment compensation which was recently extended for the umpteenth time? My colleagues, years of experience at the State level provides us with plenty of real world examples of how a limited government mandate does nothing but expand over time. For example, many of the reform proposals before us today have provisions which would override State health benefit mandates. Yet what has the experience been with benefit mandates? The answer is simple, these mandates have priced millions of Americans out of the health insurance market. By pursuing an employer mandate at the Federal level we are courting disaster.”