Schwartz Flip-Flop Alert

Allyson Schwartz Was Against Volunteer Firefighters and the PA GOP Caught Her Callous Indifference

HARRISBURG — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Communications Director Megan Sweeney followed up on Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz’s attempt to spin her way out of her support for ObamaCare.

“Allyson Schwartz’s support for ObamaCare is the reason Pennsylvania volunteer firefighters’ health care is in jeopardy in the first place,” Sweeney said. “It was the PA GOP who forced Allyson Schwartz to finally take a look at ObamaCare’s disastrous effect on volunteer firefighters.

“Many questions regarding Allyson Schwartz’s support for ObamaCare remain. Why wasn’t Allyson Schwartz aware of the dangers that ObamaCare posed to our volunteer firefighters in the first place? Why has Allyson Schwartz remained silent on ObamaCare’s devastating effect on our small businesses? Why does Allyson Schwartz feel comfortable with driving a wedge between children and their doctors?

“It’s time for Allyson Schwartz to accept responsibility for her support of ObamaCare and apologize to the millions of people whose health coverage was affected by her radical agenda.”

Republicans Standing Up for Volunteers Firefighters

H.R. 3685, also known as the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act, will, “ensure that emergency services volunteers are not counted as full-time employees under the shared responsibility requirements,” of ObamaCare. (Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act of 2013, H.R. 3685, 113h Cong., 1st Sess. (2013).

Schwartz Admits that her ObamaCare Vote Puts Communities in Danger

According to Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, “[r]equiring communities to provide health care benefits to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians may simply be unaffordable for many communities. This could create a dangerous situation, whereby communities are forced to eliminate critical volunteer positions, endangering the safety and welfare of their residents.” In an email sent on Friday, January 10, Allyson Schwartz states that ObamaCare’s effect on volunteer firefighters was a “unnecessary and potentially harmful health insurance burden.”

Obama’s “One Size Fits All” Fails Volunteer Firefighters

Healthcare.gov explains the employer mandate as “if you have 50 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, you may have to make this payment if at least 1 of your employees qualifies to save money on monthly premiums in the Marketplace.” (U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, https://www.healthcare.gov/what-is-the-employer-shared-responsibility-payment/ accessed December 17, 2013).

ObamaCare Has No Protection for First Responders

According to the IRS, “[g]enerally, tax laws apply to firefighters in the same manner as for other types of workers. It does not matter whether firefighters are termed ‘volunteers’, are considered employees, or are identified by any other name, if the work they do is subject to the will and control of the payer, under the common-law rules, they are employees for Federal tax purposes.” (IRS, “Issues for Firefighters, 3 Sept 2013, http://www.irs.gov/Government-Entities/Federal,-State-&-Local-Governments/Issues-for-Firefighters ,accessed December 17, 2013).

ObamaCare Hurts Small Businesses

“Insurers have been warning for months that the Affordable Care Act will lead to premium increases for some small businesses — it was part of their pitch to get employers to renew their old coverage early.”(David Nather, “Next Obamacare Crisis: Small-Business Costs?,” Politico, 12/17/13)

Under ObamaCare, Children Will Be Forced To Switch Their Health Care Plans

“Under Obamacare, Pennsylvania and other states that operate their own health-care programs for low-income children are required to transfer children into Medicaid by Jan. 1 if the family income is between 100 percent and 133 percent of poverty level. That equals $19,530 to $25,975 for a three-member household, which is the U.S. average…In Pennsylvania, that requirement would affect roughly 50,000 children ages 6 to 18 — or a little more than a quarter of all minors covered under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).” (Steve Esack, “Governor Tom Corbett to Feds: PA Will Not Move Poor Children From CHiP to Medicaid Under ObamaCare, Allentown Morning Call, December 12, 2013)

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