Construction Industry Angry Over Provision In Senate Health Care Bill

Washington, D.C., USA (AHN) - Owners of small construction firms across the country are angry over a provision in the Senate health care bill that they say is unfair. At issue is a provision that treats construction businesses differently than other small businesses.

The Senate bill has a provision requiring businesses with over 50 employees to pay a fine of $750-per-worker fine for any employee who purchases subsidized health insurance on their own. However, the provision was amended to require construction businesses with more than five employees to pay the same fine.

The construction industry says that in these lean financial times the provision will result in many of them being forced out of business.

The amendment was inserted Wednesday morning in order to garner the necessary 60 votes to pass the bill.

Construction firms are crying foul over the provision that treats them differently from every other business with fewer than 50 employees.  The National Association of Homebuilders issued the following statement in reaction to the bill.

"This narrow provision is an unprecedented assault on the construction industry and unjustly targets an industry trying to keep its doors open during the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "If this provision were to be enacted into law, it would prove to be catastrophic for the home building industry. In short, this is a true jobs killer. Thousands of small builder firms struggling to stay afloat could go under. We strongly urge the Senate to reconsider and pull this onerous provision that threatens the viability of small home builders across the nation."

Before becoming law, the Senate health care bill still needs to be reconciled with the legislation passed by the House in November, and each chamber needs to approve the merged bill before sending it to the White House.