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House|Senate

114th Congress, Vote 14; House of Representatives #30

Save American Workers Act of 2015


Official Title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 30-hour threshold for classification as a full-time employee for purposes of the employer mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and replace it with 40 hours.

HR 30: Save American Workers Act of 2015
Passed by the House January 8, 2015, 240-12 (5 abstaining).

Synopsis: This bill would change the ACA’s definition of "full-time" from 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week.

The ACA’s employer shared responsibility provision requires employers with at least 50 full-time equivalent employees to offer health insurance to their full-time workers, starting in 2016. (For larger employers, the requirement took effect in 2015.)

Changing the definition of full time to 40 hours means that employers wouldn’t have to provide insurance to as many workers. But it also means that more people would qualify for Medicaid/CHIP or exchange subsidies, thus increasing the burden on taxpayers.

Why supporters pushed for this bill

  • Retail, restaurant, and franchise groups have been among the most outspoken supporters of HR 30. If the definition of full-time is adjusted upwards, these employers will be able to save money on health insurance premiums and have more flexibility with employee hours without having to offer health benefits.
  • Supporters of HR 30 claim that businesses are cutting employee hours to less than 30 per week, avoiding the requirement to offer health insurance, and resulting in lower paychecks for workers. There’s some validity to this claim, but the adjustments appear to only be having a slight impact on people who work between 25 and 35 hours per week, which is a very small percentage of the population. Overall, fivethirtyeight estimates that "a few hundred thousand" people – out of 150 million workers – have seen a reduction or cap on their work hours as a result of the ACA. Although this is a very small segment of the population, the impact is not insignificant for the affected workers and their families.
  • If the definition of full-time is raised to 40 hours a week, employers would be able to offer additional hours to their employees who are currently working fewer than 40 hours per week, without a requirement to offer them health insurance. Supporters note that this would result in higher paychecks for these workers.
  • 40 hours per week is what most people generally consider "full time" and supporters of HR 30 want to align the legal standard with the generally accepted definition.

Why opponents tried to stop the bill

  • The CBO estimates that HR 30 would reduce by about one million the number of people covered under employer-sponsored health plans.
  • At the same time, the legislation would increase the number of uninsured Americans by about half a million, and would send about 500,000 to one million additional people to Medicaid/CHIP or the health insurance exchanges. Since Medicaid/CHIP and exchange subsidies are funded by the government, the CBO estimates that HR 30 would increase the budget deficit by $53 billion over the period from 2015 to 2025.
  • If it’s true that employers are likely to cut employee hours in order to avoid the employer shared responsibility provision (employer mandate), the problem would be more significant if full-time were redefined as 40 hours per week. 80 percent of hourly employees work at least 35 hours per week, and there has been no measurable decline in work hours for that population. But more people would be in danger of having their hours cut if the full-time definition were to be changed, since cutting employees’ hours from 40 to 39 would be much more practical than reducing them from 40 to 29.
  • Very few employers are actually impacted by the ACA’s shared-responsibility provision. Most employers either have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent workers, or else they already offer coverage to their full-time employees. Opponents of HR 30 note that the legislation implies that the employer shared-responsibility mandate is an onerous burden on employers, despite the fact that most employers already comply with the existing rules.
  • HR 30 is viewed by opponents as simply an effort to undermine the ACA, with little regard for the practical implications of the legislation.
01/08/2015 Status: House passed

More: select a member to see his or her other key health care votes.

Yes (252)
R Robert Aderholt AL
R Mo Brooks AL
R Bradley Byrne AL
R Gary Palmer AL
R Martha Roby AL
R Mike Rogers AL
R Eric Crawford AR
R French Hill AR
R Bruce Westerman AR
R Steve Womack AR
R Trent Franks AZ
R Martha McSally AZ
R Matt Salmon AZ
R David Schweikert AZ
D Kyrsten Sinema AZ
D Ami Bera CA
R Ken Calvert CA
R Paul Cook CA
D Jim Costa CA
R Jeff Denham CA
R Duncan Hunter CA
R Darrell Issa CA
R Steve Knight CA
R Doug LaMalfa CA
R Kevin McCarthy CA
R Tom McClintock CA
R Devin Nunes CA
D Scott Peters CA
R Dana Rohrabacher CA
R Edward Royce CA
R David Valadao CA
R Mimi Walters CA
R Ken Buck CO
R Mike Coffman CO
R Doug Lamborn CO
R Scott Tipton CO
R Gus Bilirakis FL
R Vern Buchanan FL
R Curtis Clawson FL
R Ander Crenshaw FL
R Carlos Curbelo FL
R Ron DeSantis FL
R Mario Diaz-Balart FL
D Gwen Graham FL
R David Jolly FL
R John Mica FL
R Jeff Miller FL
D Patrick Murphy FL
R Richard Nugent FL
R Bill Posey FL
R Thomas Rooney FL
R Ileana Ros-Lehtinen FL
R Dennis Ross FL
R Daniel Webster FL
R Ted Yoho FL
R Rick Allen GA
R Buddy Carter GA
R Doug Collins GA
R Tom Graves GA
R Jody Hice GA
R Barry Loudermilk GA
R Tom Price GA
R Austin Scott GA
R Lynn Westmoreland GA
R Rob Woodall GA
R Rod Blum IA
R Steve King IA
R David Young IA
R Raúl Labrador ID
R Michael Simpson ID
R Mike Bost IL
R Rodney Davis IL
R Bob Dold IL
R Randy Hultgren IL
R Adam Kinzinger IL
D Daniel Lipinski IL
R Peter Roskam IL
R Aaron Schock IL
R John Shimkus IL
R Susan Brooks IN
R Larry Bucshon IN
R Luke Messer IN
R Todd Rokita IN
R Marlin Stutzman IN
R Jackie Walorski IN
R Todd Young IN
R Tim Huelskamp KS
R Lynn Jenkins KS
R Mike Pompeo KS
R Kevin Yoder KS
R Garland Barr KY
R Brett Guthrie KY
R Thomas Massie KY
R Harold Rogers KY
R Ralph Abraham LA
R Charles Boustany LA
R John Fleming LA
R Garret Graves LA
R Steve Scalise LA
D John Delaney MD
R Andy Harris MD
R Bruce Poliquin ME
R Justin Amash MI
R Dan Benishek MI
R Mike Bishop MI
R Bill Huizenga MI
R Candice Miller MI
R John Moolenaar MI
R Dave Trott MI
R Fred Upton MI
R Tim Walberg MI
R Tom Emmer MN
R John Kline MN
R Erik Paulsen MN
D Collin Peterson MN
R Sam Graves MO
R Vicky Hartzler MO
R Billy Long MO
R Blaine Luetkemeyer MO
R Jason Smith MO
R Ann Wagner MO
R Gregg Harper MS
R Steven Palazzo MS
R Ryan Zinke MT
R Renee Ellmers NC
R Virginia Foxx NC
R George Holding NC
R Richard Hudson NC
R Walter Jones NC
R Patrick McHenry NC
R Mark Meadows NC
R Robert Pittenger NC
R David Rouzer NC
R Mark Walker NC
R Kevin Cramer ND
D Brad Ashford NE
R Jeff Fortenberry NE
R Adrian Smith NE
R Frank Guinta NH
R Rodney Frelinghuysen NJ
R Scott Garrett NJ
R Leonard Lance NJ
R Frank LoBiondo NJ
R Tom MacArthur NJ
R Christopher Smith NJ
R Stevan Pearce NM
R Mark Amodei NV
R Cresent Hardy NV
R Joseph Heck NV
R Chris Collins NY
R Christopher Gibson NY
R Richard Hanna NY
R John Katko NY
R Peter King NY
R Tom Reed NY
R Elise Stefanik NY
R Lee Zeldin NY
R Steve Chabot OH
R Bob Gibbs OH
R Bill Johnson OH
R Jim Jordan OH
R David Joyce OH
R Robert Latta OH
R James Renacci OH
R Steve Stivers OH
R Patrick Tiberi OH
R Michael Turner OH
R Brad Wenstrup OH
R Jim Bridenstine OK
R Tom Cole OK
R Frank Lucas OK
R Markwayne Mullin OK
R Steve Russell OK
D Kurt Schrader OR
R Greg Walden OR
R Lou Barletta PA
R Ryan Costello PA
R Charles Dent PA
R Michael Fitzpatrick PA
R Mike Kelly PA
R Tom Marino PA
R Patrick Meehan PA
R Tim Murphy PA
R Scott Perry PA
R Joseph Pitts PA
R Keith Rothfus PA
R Bill Shuster PA
R Glenn Thompson PA
R Jeff Duncan SC
R Trey Gowdy SC
R Mick Mulvaney SC
R Tom Rice SC
R Marshall Sanford SC
R Joe Wilson SC
R Kristi Noem SD
R Diane Black TN
R Marsha Blackburn TN
R Scott DesJarlais TN
R John Duncan TN
R Stephen Fincher TN
R Charles Fleischmann TN
R David Roe TN
R Brian Babin TX
R Joe Barton TX
R Kevin Brady TX
R Michael Burgess TX
R K. Conaway TX
D Henry Cuellar TX
R John Culberson TX
R Blake Farenthold TX
R Bill Flores TX
R Louie Gohmert TX
R Kay Granger TX
R Jeb Hensarling TX
R Will Hurd TX
R Sam Johnson TX
R Kenny Marchant TX
R Michael McCaul TX
R Randy Neugebauer TX
R Pete Olson TX
R Ted Poe TX
R John Ratcliffe TX
R Pete Sessions TX
R Lamar Smith TX
R Mac Thornberry TX
R Randy Weber TX
R Roger Williams TX
R Rob Bishop UT
R Jason Chaffetz UT
R Mia Love UT
R Chris Stewart UT
R David Brat VA
R Barbara Comstock VA
R J. Forbes VA
R Bob Goodlatte VA
R H. Griffith VA
R Robert Hurt VA
R Edward Rigell VA
R Robert Wittman VA
R J. Herrera Beutler WA
R C. McMorris Rodgers WA
R Dan Newhouse WA
R David Reichert WA
R Sean Duffy WI
R Glenn Grothman WI
R Reid Ribble WI
R Paul Ryan WI
R F. Sensenbrenner WI
R Evan Jenkins WV
R David McKinley WV
R Alex Mooney WV
R Cynthia Lummis WY
No (172)
Our pick
D Terri Sewell AL
D Raúl Grijalva AZ
D Ann Kirkpatrick AZ
D Pete Aguilar CA
D Karen Bass CA
D Xavier Becerra CA
D Julia Brownley CA
D Lois Capps CA
D Tony Cárdenas CA
D Judy Chu CA
D Susan Davis CA
D Mark DeSaulnier CA
D Anna Eshoo CA
D Sam Farr CA
D John Garamendi CA
D Janice Hahn CA
D Michael Honda CA
D Jared Huffman CA
D Barbara Lee CA
D Ted Lieu CA
D Zoe Lofgren CA
D Alan Lowenthal CA
D Doris Matsui CA
D Jerry McNerney CA
D Grace Napolitano CA
D Nancy Pelosi CA
D L. Roybal-Allard CA
D Raul Ruiz CA
D Linda Sánchez CA
D Loretta Sanchez CA
D Adam Schiff CA
D Brad Sherman CA
D Jackie Speier CA
D Eric Swalwell CA
D Mark Takano CA
D Mike Thompson CA
D Norma Torres CA
D Juan Vargas CA
D Diana DeGette CO
D Ed Perlmutter CO
D Jared Polis CO
D Joe Courtney CT
D Rosa DeLauro CT
D Elizabeth Esty CT
D James Himes CT
D John Larson CT
D John Carney DE
D Corrine Brown FL
D Kathy Castor FL
D Theodore Deutch FL
D Lois Frankel FL
D Alan Grayson FL
D Alcee Hastings FL
D D. Wasserman Schultz FL
D Frederica Wilson FL
D Sanford Bishop GA
D Henry Johnson GA
D John Lewis GA
D David Scott GA
D Tulsi Gabbard HI
D Mark Takai HI
D David Loebsack IA
D Cheri Bustos IL
D Danny Davis IL
D Bill Foster IL
D Luis Gutiérrez IL
D Robin Kelly IL
D Mike Quigley IL
D Bobby Rush IL
D Janice Schakowsky IL
D André Carson IN
D Peter Visclosky IN
D John Yarmuth KY
D Cedric Richmond LA
D Michael Capuano MA
D Katherine Clark MA
D William Keating MA
D Joseph Kennedy MA
D Stephen Lynch MA
D James McGovern MA
D Seth Moulton MA
D Richard Neal MA
D Niki Tsongas MA
D Elijah Cummings MD
D Donna Edwards MD
D Steny Hoyer MD
D C. Ruppersberger MD
D John Sarbanes MD
D Chris Van Hollen MD
D Chellie Pingree ME
D John Conyers MI
D Debbie Dingell MI
D Daniel Kildee MI
D Brenda Lawrence MI
D Sander Levin MI
D Keith Ellison MN
D Betty McCollum MN
D Richard Nolan MN
D Timothy Walz MN
D Wm. Clay MO
D Emanuel Cleaver MO
D Bennie Thompson MS
D Alma Adams NC
D George Butterfield NC
D David Price NC
D Ann Kuster NH
D Donald Norcross NJ
D Frank Pallone NJ
D Bill Pascrell NJ
D Donald Payne NJ
D Albio Sires NJ
D B. Watson Coleman NJ
D Ben Luján NM
D M. Lujan Grisham NM
D Dina Titus NV
D Yvette Clarke NY
D Joseph Crowley NY
D Eliot Engel NY
D Brian Higgins NY
D Steve Israel NY
D Hakeem Jeffries NY
D Nita Lowey NY
D Carolyn Maloney NY
D Sean Maloney NY
D Gregory Meeks NY
D Grace Meng NY
D Jerrold Nadler NY
D Charles Rangel NY
D Kathleen Rice NY
D José Serrano NY
D Louise Slaughter NY
D Paul Tonko NY
D Nydia Velázquez NY
D Joyce Beatty OH
D Marcia Fudge OH
D Marcy Kaptur OH
D Tim Ryan OH
D Earl Blumenauer OR
D Suzanne Bonamici OR
D Peter DeFazio OR
D Brendan Boyle PA
D Robert Brady PA
D Matthew Cartwright PA
D Michael Doyle PA
D Chaka Fattah PA
D David Cicilline RI
D James Langevin RI
D James Clyburn SC
D Steve Cohen TN
D Jim Cooper TN
D Joaquin Castro TX
D Lloyd Doggett TX
D Al Green TX
D Gene Green TX
D Rubén Hinojosa TX
D Sheila Jackson Lee TX
D Eddie Johnson TX
D Marc Veasey TX
D Filemon Vela TX
D Donald Beyer VA
D Gerald Connolly VA
D Robert Scott VA
D Peter Welch VT
D Suzan DelBene WA
D Denny Heck WA
D Derek Kilmer WA
D Rick Larsen WA
D Jim McDermott WA
D Adam Smith WA
D Ron Kind WI
D Gwen Moore WI
D Mark Pocan WI
Not Voting (5)
D Ruben Gallego AZ
R Paul Gosar AZ
D Tammy Duckworth IL
R Ed Whitfield KY
D Beto O’Rourke TX