Andy Barr: “Today, the House has the chance to more permanently establish in law a provision that firefighters across Kentucky's 6th…”

“Today, the House has the chance to more permanently establish in law a provision that firefighters across Kentucky's 6th District have told me is vital to their ability to continue protecting our communities. The Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act will simply ensure, once and for all, that these departments will not fall victim to the costly employer mandate in ObamaCare. Over 90 percent of Kentucky's fire departments are either fully or mostly volunteer. Fire chiefs have told me that they do not have the resources to provide the health benefits mandated by ObamaCare's employer mandates to these brave and selfless volunteers who have no expectation of receiving such benefits or receive their benefits through other lines of work. I remain committed to replacing ObamaCare with reforms that will actually lower the cost of health care without jeopardizing the safety of our communities. As an original cosponsor, I am pleased to help introduce this critical legislation. I commend Congressman Barletta for introducing it, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this critical legislation.”