S.Amdt. 255

SA 255. Mr. ENZI submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 98 proposed by Mr. Inouye (for himself and Mr. Baucus) to
the bill H.R. 1, making supplemental appropriations for job
preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency
and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal
stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 604, between lines 10 and 11, insert the following:
(D) Exemption for certain employers.--
(i) In general.--The provisions of this subsection shall
not apply with respect to an otherwise assistance eligible
individual if the employer that involuntarily terminated the
individual (as described in paragraph (3)(C)) is an employer
described in clause (ii).
(ii) Employer described.--An employer is described in this
clause if--

(I) the employer's liability for payroll taxes (as defined
in section 6432(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for
any quarter does not exceed the amount of the credit that the
employer would be entitled to receive under section 6432 of
such Code to compensate the employer for the costs of
providing the subsidy under this subsection for such quarter;
or
(II) the cost of the employer's group health insurance
premiums would increase by more than 5 percent (as certified
under clause (iii)) as a result of the receipt by the
unemployed employees of the employer of the subsidy under
this subsection.

(iii) Certification.--To qualify for the exemption
described in clause (ii)(II), an employer shall obtain a
certification from an independent actuary that, based on the
employer's historical group health insurance enrollment
patterns and actuarial assumptions about the likely
characteristics of new assistance eligible individuals, the
average annual premium for all employees of the employer
would increase by more than 5 percent above the growth rate
in premiums that would occur except for the application of
this subparagraph.
(iv) Criteria.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish
appropriate criteria for the application of this
subparagraph, including the appropriate standards for the
conduct of the actuarial analyses described in clause (iii).
______