Employer-Owned Life Insurance Limitation Act

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Mr. GUTIERREZ. Today I told my staff, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I had to cancel their health insurance policy. It was just too expensive. But here's the good news. I'm taking out a huge life insurance policy on all of my employees. So if you get sick and die, I told them, Don't worry. I've got you covered.

Now, I didn't tell them that I made the insurance policies payable to me--Luis Gutierrez. I didn't tell them that I'll use the benefits for myself and I'm just going to line my pockets.

Sound ridiculous? Sound wrong? Sound unfair? You're right. It is.

So today I'm introducing the Employer-Owned Life Insurance Limitation Act. All across America, companies take out life insurance policies on their employees. They spend $8 billion a year on these premiums, but the benefits go to the employers--big companies like Winn-Dixie, Wal-Mart, Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, and even Disney--and the employees don't even know about it.

In a Nation where millions of full-time workers have no health insurance, corporate America is finding a way to line their pockets with life insurance, profiting from their deaths. Maybe if we prevent companies from betting on the death of their employees, they will invest in the health of their employees.

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