NFIB supports two new House bills

WASHINGTON (Jan. 13, 2015) — The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has thrown its support behind two bills introduced into the new 114th Congress.

The first, H.R. 30, would repeal the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) defining full-time employment as 30 hours — the threshold at which businesses are to begin offering health care coverage. It was scheduled for a vote Jan. 8 before the full House of Representatives, according to the NFIB.

According to the NFIB, the 30-hour threshold provides a strong incentive for employers to avoid creating jobs calling for 30 hours or more of work per week.

“One of the more easily foreseeable consequences of the Affordable Care Act is the pressure it imposes on small firms to reduce or avoid adding full-time positions,” said NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner.

The NFIB quoted figures from the November 2014 employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In that month, full-time jobs dropped by 150,000, while part-time jobs increased by 77,000, it said.

The NFIB also applauded Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., for introducing H.R. 185, the Regulatory Accountability Act.

H.R. 185 is designed to increase public participation in shaping regulations before government agencies propose them, according to the NFIB. It requires agencies to choose the least costly regulatory options unless they can prove that more expensive measures will protect public health, safety or welfare, and provides for on-the-record administrative hearings on proposed regulations to ensure that data are well-tested and well-reviewed.

“This legislation makes the regulatory process more transparent, agencies more accountable and regulations more cost-effective,” said Dan Bosch, NFIB manager of regulatory policy.