Rigell Supports Hire More Heroes Act of 2015

Press Release

Seeking to further support our nation's veterans while reversing unworkable provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), yesterday Congressman Scott Rigell (VA-02) voted for, and the House of Representatives passed, the Hire More Heroes Act of 2015. This legislation incentivizes small businesses to hire returning veterans and wounded warriors by providing relief from burdensome costs imposed by the ACA's employer mandate.

"Small business owners should be encouraged to employ our nation's returning veterans," said Rigell, who represents the district with the highest concentration of active duty and retired military personnel in the country. "Our service men and women sacrifice so much for our freedom. When their work is done defending us overseas, we owe it to our veterans and wounded warriors to do everything in our power to help them find jobs back here at home."

The employer mandate in the ACA requires all businesses with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health insurance to their employees or pay a fine. The new coverage requirements impose yet another burden on small businesses by forcing them to pay out of pocket expenses to insure service veterans who are already covered under existing Department of Defense (DoD) or Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) plans. The Hire More Heroes Act amends the President's health care law to allow employers to exclude employees who have existing coverage under a health care program administered by the DoD including TRICARE, or the VA.

Rigell continued: "I am pleased that the House acted on behalf of veterans and small business owners in a way that will help reignite the best economic engine the world has ever known. It's time to dismantle the unworkable health care law for good and replace it with better health policies."

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