I voted "Yes" on H.R. 33, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act.
I am a co-sponsor of this legislation to permanently ensure that volunteer firefighters and emergency responders are not counted for purposes of determining the number of full-time "employees" for the purposes of the Obamacare employer mandate. Obamacare mandates that employers face a $2,000 penalty for each person who is not covered under the organization's health care policy.
These penalties could place a terrible financial burden on volunteer fire departments and EMS units in upstate New York. Our region depends heavily on volunteer firefighters and most of our local departments operate on very tight budgets and are in no position to pick up a costly new tab from Washington and provide health insurance that many volunteers do not want or need. Last year, I visited fire departments in New Hartford and Vestal and heard about the devastating impact that counting volunteers as employees under Obamacare would cause for service in our area.
I supported this bill to make sure that our local fire departments can keep their doors open and that emergency responders who provide vital services to keep our communities safe are not punished for their selfless service.