John J. Faso: “I wanted to point out to my colleagues that a fundamental change is being made with the new health law we have before…”

“I wanted to point out to my colleagues that a fundamental change is being made with the new health law we have before us, and that is, we are, for the first time, equalizing the treatment of people who do not have employer-provided health care. Those of us who have employer-provided health care, 170 million Americans, that is not a taxable event for them. It is not a taxable event where they have to pay tax at the end of the year on the value of that employer-provided health care. And yet, if you are the person who does not have employer-provided health care, if you are the husband and wife with two kids making 45 or $50,000, and your employer does not provide health care, you receive absolutely no tax subsidy through the Tax Code. This bill, through the advance refundable tax credits, will, for the first time, give someone the choice to buy health care and give them the opportunity and the means to buy health care that they previously have not had. It is not a markedly important distinction, frankly, from the Affordable Care Act, where you only could buy the health care through an exchange-approved policy. This policy, under this legislation today, will allow someone the flexibility and the freedom to buy a policy of their choosing, not one dictated by Washington. So that is a fundamental important distinction between the status quo and what this legislation would offer. Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, I urge support for the bill.…”