Chuck Grassley: “Additionally, we proposed giving workers a refundable, advanceable tax credit towards the purchase of health insurance…”

“Additionally, we proposed giving workers a refundable, advanceable tax credit towards the purchase of health insurance equal to 50 percent of the policy's cost. So we moved away from a national emergency grant program to one that is probably more dynamic, with more flexibility for the workers--a tax credit for those who are unemployed to continue the insurance they had where they previously worked and were laid off; and even go beyond that, for people to have health insurance even if they did not have health insurance at their previous job before they were laid off. Democrats objected, claiming that the credit was too small and that sicker people would have trouble buying policies in the individual market. So there was one gripe after another, but we tried to satisfy those gripes to reach a consensus agreement which ended up being the bipartisan centrist-White House program. Our new proposal then was endorsed by the White House even though the President had suggested another approach. It was endorsed by the White House, the House of Representatives, and by the bipartisan centrist group of this body. That program takes a three-pronged approach to getting health insurance assistance to those dislocated workers who used to have health insurance where they first worked. Now they are unemployed. Now they do not have health insurance.”