Fallen Firefighters Assistance Tax Clarification Act of 2013

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey.

I rise today to ask an incredulous question of how many times do we have to say, ``No,'' and how many times do the American people have to say, ``Take your hands off my good Affordable Care Act'' that has allowed millions of Americans to have preventible care that is being poised to attack the scandalous high percentage of uninsured in the State of Texas, being the number one State with uninsured persons? How many times?

First of all, this bill is frivolous. The reason is because there is a construct in the Affordable Care Act to deal with all of the questions that they've asked. First of all, it will require that individuals will have to submit their projected annual household income. All income data submitted through the marketplace will then be checked against IRS data, Social Security data, current wage information. If there is inconsistency, the marketplace will require additional documentation. In addition, marketplaces will check employer coverage information from the applicant and their employer against data, OPM, and the SHOP Marketplaces, as well as other data sources.

It is absolutely absurd for this bill to place more responsibilities on an already sequestered government. If my colleagues want to do anything to provide any substance to what they're talking about, let's put a bill on the floor to end sequestration. There's no resources that would add to the inspector general's ability to do all that they said.

Let me add further insult to injury, and I want my constituents to listen closely. $67 million was given to navigators to provide the kind of oversight and construction that these individuals on this bill have suggested they need. What I find appalling and what I've not seen in my tenure in Congress is the number of Members on the Energy and Commerce Committee that have sent a letter to the 51 navigators governed by Health and Human Services to require them to send information.

I want my navigator that received a grant from HHS to refuse to do anything with that letter, and I'm going to ask the Secretary of HHS to reject this letter that has no authority in law. Again, it is trying to abuse and reject the idea of the Affordable Care Act.

This bill should go down, and don't answer the letter. This is a bad way to deal with health care in America.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2775, the so- called ``No Subsidies Without Verification Act.'' I oppose this unnecessary and dilatory legislation which imposes unnecessary and burdensome conditions on the ability of Americans to utilize the tax credits provided by the Affordable Care Act which will enable them to purchase affordable health insurance for themselves and their families.

This is the 41st attempt by House Republicans to repeal, delay, or undermine effective implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Even though the Affordable Care Act, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court and is here to stay, House Republicans refuse to abandon their quixotic quest to derail a law that will bring peace of mind to millions of Americans and reduce the deficit by $1 trillion.

Their latest attempt is the bill before us which prohibits any health insurance premium tax credits from being provided until the HHS Inspector General Office certifies there is a program in place that ``successfully and consistently verifies'' household income and coverage requirements for those applying for these credits.

This bill, H.R. 2775, is unnecessary because HHS already has a strong income verification system in place, as confirmed by CBO. The only purpose of this legislation is to hinder the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

The impact of the enactment of this GOP bill would be an unconscionable delay in obtaining health insurance for more than 25.7 million Americans, 22.7 million of whom are members of working class families.

The new requirement imposed by the irresponsible bill before us would delay millions of

our hard-working constituents from getting the premium tax credits they are clearly eligible for beginning on January 1, 2014.

Madam Speaker, Americans do not have to be told that justice delayed is justice denied!

Under current law, to receive the premium tax credits to make their health insurance affordable, individuals will have to submit their projected annual household income. All income data submitted through the Marketplaces will then be checked against IRS data, Social Security data, and current wage information. If there is an inconsistency, the Marketplaces will require additional documentation from applicants.

In addition, Marketplaces will check employer coverage information from the applicant and their employer against data from OPM and the SHOP Marketplaces as well as other data sources approved by HHS to verify eligibility for the tax credits. If applicant information and other data do not match, the Marketplaces will ask for further supporting documentation.

Further, all payments of premium tax credits are reconciled by IRS the following year. The income data submitted is reconciled against the actual wages and health coverage information on the individual's income tax return. If there is an inconsistency, the applicant pays back the excess, subject to statutory limit and there is 100 percent income verification and reconciliation on this back-end.

In sum, there are ample existing safeguards to ensure that premium tax credits are available only to those eligible to receive them.

Madam Speaker, after the sobering events of the last week, regarding war and peace, I would hope all my colleagues would take into consideration the importance of using our limited legislative time more wisely.

We should be addressing the need to eliminate sequestration, raising the debt ceiling and passing the jobs bill in order to repair infrastructure. But instead House Republicans continue to repeal, delay, or undermine the Affordable Care Act. Instead of wasting time on these time-consuming but futile efforts, our friends across the aisle should join with their Democratic colleagues to work together to create jobs and educational opportunities for our people.

Moreover, the Affordable Care Act is working and my constituents--and those of my colleagues--are benefiting from this landmark legislation.

Many of those most in need of the healthcare coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act live in the districts of many members on both sides of this argument. My home state of Texas leads the list of states with the highest percentages of uninsured residents. The states with the highest percentage of uninsured are:

1. Texas: 28.8%.

2. Louisiana: 24%.

3. Nevada: 23.3%.

4. California: 23.2%.

5. Florida: 22.8%.

6. Georgia: 22.5%.

7. Arkansas: 21.9%.

8. Mississippi: 21.7%.

9. Oklahoma: 21.4%.

The highest concentration of the uninsured is the poor. The Affordable Care Act provides at no or nearly no cost to states an option to enroll those living in or near poverty into their Medicaid program, which would benefit my state of Texas tremendously if the Governor can be persuaded to follow the example of his Republican counterparts and accept a deal of a lifetime.

I cannot understand the continued refusal by House Republicans to accept the Affordable Care Act, which is now the law of the land and is modeled after the plan put in place in Massachusetts by the nominee of their party in the last presidential election.

Instead of focusing on the issues that the American people want addressed, we are having the same discussion to repeal the Affordable Care Act in efforts of my colleagues to repeal, obstruct and undermine this law.

What is even more frustrating is that while there is so much energy in trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, there has been no plan or suggestions posed on how to replace it.

Additionally, I oppose this misguided legislation because the Affordable Care Act is working for America and for my constituents in the 18th Congressional District of Texas. Let me count the ways:

13 million Americans benefited from $1.1 billion in rebates sent to them from their health insurance companies last year.

105 million Americans have access to free preventive services, including 71 million Americans in private plans and 34 million seniors on Medicare.

Millions of women began receiving free coverage for comprehensive women's preventive services in August 2012.

100 million Americans no longer have a life-time limit on healthcare coverage.

Nearly 17 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage by insurers.

6.6 million young-adults up to age 26 have health insurance through their parents' plan, half of whom would be uninsured without this coverage.

6.3 million Seniors in the `donut hole' have already saved $6.1 billion on their prescription drugs.

3.2 million Seniors have access to free annual wellness visits under Medicare, and

360,000 small employers have already taken advantage of the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit to provide health insurance to 2 million workers.

Because of the Affordable Care Act 3.8 million people in Texas-- including 2.2 million seniors on Medicare now receive preventative care services. Over 7 million Texans no longer have to fear lifetime limits on their healthcare insurance. Texas parents of 300,731 young adults can sleep easier at night knowing that their children can remain on their health insurance until age 26.

The protection provided by this law is a guarantee to 5 million Texas residents that their insurance companies will spend 8o percent of their premium dollars on healthcare, or customers will get a rebate from their insurance company.

In my state, there are 4,029 people who had no insurance because of pre-existing conditions, but today the Affordable Care Act has provided them with access to coverage. The Affordable Care Act means that many Texans are free of worry about having access to healthcare insurance.

The Affordable Care Act has helped my constituents in the 18th Congressional District of Texas tremendously. Because of the Affordable Care Act:

11,400 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan;

Over 4,100 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $5.4 million, an average discount of $600 per person in 2011, $650 in 2012, and $1,040 thus far in 2013;

71,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible;

121,000 individuals in the district--including 23,000 children and 50,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible;

113,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20 percent of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections;

Over 31,100 consumers in the district received approximately $4.4 million in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011--an average rebate of $95 per family in 2012 and $187 per family in 2011;

Up to 46,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers;

153,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014;

Up to 193,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition; and

The 17,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance.

However, the list of benefits from the Affordable Care Act is not complete. In 2014, when the Affordable Care Act's final provisions will become effective, insurance companies will be banned from: discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition; charging higher rates based on gender or health status; enforcing lifetime dollar limits; and enforcing annual dollar limits on health benefits.

In 2014, access to affordable healthcare for the self employed or those who decide to purchase their own coverage will be easier because of Affordable Insurance Exchanges. There will be a one-stop marketplace where consumers can do what Federal employees have done for decades-- purchase insurance at reasonable rates from an insurer of their choice. This will ensure that health care consumers get the care that they need from the medical professionals they trust most at a price they can afford.

This Congress has work that needs to be done, and it is work that should be taken up to restore workers, their families, and communities to sound economic health. We do not have time time for partisan political games that do not advance the interests of the American people.

With less than 20 days before enrollment in the Marketplaces begins, the last thing we should be doing is considering legislation that serves no purpose other than to delay affordable health care coverage to millions of Americans who need and deserve the security and peace of mind such coverage brings.

I urge my Colleagues to put partisan politics aside and join me in voting no on the passage of this bill.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

House of Representatives

Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC, August 29, 2013.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 339, I call up the bill (H.R. 2775) to condition the provision of premium and cost- sharing subsidies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act upon a certification that a program to verify household income and other qualifications for such subsidies is operational, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on H.R. 2275.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to speak about the economic disaster facing all Americans on October 1.

Nearly 3 years ago, I decided to run for office for one primary reason: to defeat and repeal Obamacare. Three years later, this terrible law is set to be implemented and the dire warnings and predictions are already coming true.

This past summer alone, we saw three major delays in the law's implementation--from the employee mandate to consumer price caps to the issue we are debating here today.

Congresswoman Black's bill, H.R. 2775, the No Subsidies Without Verification Act, is a first step at attacking the latter.

The premise of this bill is quite simple. Serving as the stewards of taxpayer dollars is one of our most important jobs as Members of Congress. After all, dollars wasted by Congress or improperly spent by the executive branch has a direct impact on the budgets of families across this country who are struggling to pay their bills.

This is why I was appalled by this summer's announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services. In the 600-page rule issued during the July 4 holiday, HHS stated that they would no longer verify income for ObamaCare subsidies. Instead, the Obama administration would now rely on self-attestation and sample audits when launching the ObamaCare exchange subsidy program--an initiative that is estimated to cost over $1 trillion over the next decade.

After receiving criticism, HHS announced that they would reverse course and extend audits to all applicants. Yet, to this date, the administration has issued no formal change in the rule to codify this policy. In other words, they are saying one thing and doing another.

As it stands today, the rule issued by HHS reads:

The exchange may accept the applicant's attestation without

further verification.

And yet, while verification has been removed, the fines remain in place. Any applicant who enters information improperly could possibly face a $25,000 fine. If the mistake is knowing and willful, the fine could grow as high as $250,000.

As Ronald Reagan famously said, ``trust, but verify.'' If history is any guide, these claims of accountability will be disregarded unless oversight is enforced.

This only reinforces the need for the No Subsidies Without Verification Act. The bill would simply require certification systems to be in place so that the administrators can successfully and consistently verify eligibility before any premiums and cost-sharing credits are paid out.

Similar language was adopted by the Senate, but the bill before us would implement a bipartisan consensus and protect taxpayer dollars. It would do so by requiring the inspector general of HHS to certify that income verification is in place before precious taxpayer dollars are wasted and abused.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 2775, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

I now yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the vice chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Washington, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers, the chair of our Republican Conference.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 45 seconds just to outline some of the things that have already been repealed in ObamaCare.

As a consequence of Congress passing ObamaCare to find out what is in it, we have found some terrible ideas in the law. To date, the President has actually signed into law seven bipartisan bills repealing or defunding parts of the health care law. H.R. 4 repealed the small business paperwork mandate, or the 1099. H.R. 1473 cut $2.2 billion from a stealth public plan and froze the IRS budget. H.R. 674 saved taxpayers $13 billion by adjusting eligibility for ObamaCare programs. H.R. 2055 made more cuts to CO-OPs, IPAB, and the IRS. H.R. 3630 slashed billions from ObamaCare slush funds. I could go on, Madam Chairwoman.

Now I would like to yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Pennsylvania, Congressman Pat Meehan.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would just like to point out to my colleagues across the aisle that in the latest Wall Street Journal article of September 10, one of the things that they point out again is that in the Senate, which is the Democrat majority, they put in an HHS spending bill a sense of the Senate that the provision for income verification be in place.

This is something that is very important. It is common sense. Madam Speaker, wouldn't it be just a major commonsense issue to just simply put in place a proactive prevention of fraud, waste, and abuse?

I would also like to point out to my colleagues that have discussed the issue of whether or not the inspector general has the ability to do so, first and foremost, we wouldn't be approaching this in this manner if the rule had not been removed. Yet, we have to have a system in place that will address these issues.

There is no reason that we can't approach it from this, again, very commonsense approach where we ask that we actually have a rule put in place. We can't simply move forward on this incredible disaster of a law when we are not asking for some verification. I think it's a very simple move. I think it's a very commonsense move.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes to respond to some of the comments from my esteemed colleague.

This is theory. That's basically what we have now, because, as the rule was removed the week of the Fourth of July, there has been no rule put in place to replace it. Basically what we're hearing is the description of how it would be run if the rule were in place.

Mr. Speaker, an August 5 frequently asked question document was given out by HHS and the administration, which basically explains the verify process of the Federal exchange but outlines no details on how it will occur. Additionally, this fact sheet has no force of law. Even worse, the fact sheet doesn't even pretend to address the verification applications submitted to ObamaCare exchanges administered by the States. It simply says that the State can choose whatever sample size it wants to audit, meaning no actual verification may occur before millions of dollars of taxpayer-financed benefits are paid out.

While I believe America is a Nation of honorable people, we have to remember there are always those who will abuse the system. The fact sheet from CMS doesn't change the status of the rule. States can continue to audit whatever sample size they see fit or simply not audit at all.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to close. I would like to ask my colleague if he has any further speakers remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Here in Washington we have a way of doing things, and one of those ways is to deal with problems after they've been created.

Prior to coming to Washington, I was a nurse for many, many years. One of the rules that we had drummed into our heads was, if it's not documented, it did not happen. This is a rule that is not documented, so it will not happen. It is not enough that we simply ask to be on the honor system. This is a very important piece of legislation. We must ensure the hard-earned taxpayer dollars are protected and abuses are avoided. I would urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2775 for this purpose. I believe it is incumbent on the American people and the job that we do here in Washington to ensure that this happens.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The bill before us today is nothing more than another page out of the Republican playbook to delay, derail, and otherwise repeal the Affordable Care Act. Rather than a productive, bipartisan effort to ensure successful implementation, Republicans will instead waste more precious floor time to take their 41st vote that undermines and repeals the Affordable Care Act.

H.R. 2775 is based on a flawed premise that HHS does not have the verifications in place to ensure that families who are getting financial help are eligible for that help.

But my Republican friends, that's simply not true, and your bill will do nothing but prevent millions of hardworking American families from gaining Affordable Care Act coverage.

First and foremost, this bill is totally unnecessary. HHS already has

stated in regulations that they will check and verify income on 100 percent of the applications. If someone receives payments that they determine aren't substantiated, those payments will have to be paid back--100 percent verified and reconciled.

Here is how it works. To get subsidies to make their health insurance affordable, hardworking Americans and families will submit their projected annual household income through the marketplaces. The data will then be checked against IRS data, Social Security data, and current wage information. If there is an inconsistency, the marketplaces will require additional documentation from applicants.

In addition, marketplaces will check employer coverage information from the applicant and their employer against data from a number of employer data sources approved by HHS to verify eligibility for the subsidies. If applicant information and other data do not match, the marketplaces will ask for further supporting documentation.

And lastly, all payments of premium tax credits are reconciled by IRS the following year. The income data submitted to the marketplaces are reconciled against the actual wages and health-covered information on the individual's income tax return. If there is an inconsistency, the applicant pays back the excess.

Let me repeat that part, that last part, Madam Speaker, because it is the most critical. Even after HHS has verified wage information on each individual situation that arises before tax credits are sent out, the income information will still be doublechecked again against actual wages on the individual's income tax return the following year. So if there is an inconsistency, the applicant pays back the excess. There is, again, 100 percent income verification and reconciliation on the back end.

Madam Speaker, both CBO and JCT, the Joint Committee on Taxation, confirmed this, stating that the program HHS has in place satisfies the certification requirements under section 1411 of the law--proving, again, that this bill is simply irrelevant.

But, of course, in light of this report, our Republicans at the twelfth hour have hastily amended the bill. The new language will basically ask the IG of HHS to formally certify these verification systems, which does nothing but delay the start of the law and deny millions of hardworking Americans from getting the tax credits they're clearly eligible for.

I maintained in Rules last night, and I'll maintain again, this is not the responsibility of the inspector general. The inspector general doesn't do this. They probably can't do this.

The IG's office has confirmed these implications by stating that this new language places unworkable requirements on their office and that it has no resources to perform this and that it is outside of its traditional role. The Republicans know very well all of this, and that's the exact reason they made this change. It's simply a delay tactic.

Again, the IG won't be able to do this. This is not its traditional role. So the only thing that happens here, Madam Speaker, is that this is a legislation which, of course, will never pass; but if it did pass and got signed by the President, which would never happen, it would simply delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and that's what the Republicans want. Repeal, delay, defund--this is what they're all about. It's the 41st vote, again, to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Madam Speaker, we are 20 days away from October 1, when millions of uninsured Americans will finally get access to quality, affordable health care. No longer will hardworking families worry about getting sick or injured or losing coverage because of the loss of a job, because the Affordable Care Act gives health security and peace of mind. For those hardworking families who need additional tools to help them afford their health coverage, the ACA will help make coverage a reality.

So despite the delay tactics in this bill and the millions of hours and dollars spent to derail the ACA, the law is moving forward. Organizations across this country, including labor, small businesses, employers, health care providers, advocates, religious leaders, and others, will continue to focus on helping uninsured Americans gain access to health care.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. It is, again, an unnecessary delay; but I at least am optimistic in knowing that the ACA will move forward and that the Republicans will not have success.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield), a member of our committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), who is a long-time supporter and person in the mix on health care, certainly as a nurse and as a health care professional.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Madam Speaker, I ask how much time remains on both sides.

I now yield 3 minutes to the chairman emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Dingell.

(Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

(Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to yield the remaining 30 seconds to our Ways and Means Committee time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of the No Subsidies Without Verification Act because too many of our precious tax dollars are being lost to fraud. That's the simple goal of this bill by Representative Diane Black, stopping fraud and abuse in ObamaCare.

We wouldn't allow an individual to apply for a mortgage, a car loan or a credit card without verifying their income. You can't go into a restaurant, grocery store, or gasoline station and just pay on the honor system. Yet today--because the White House, frankly, has botched the last 3\1/2\ years, and ObamaCare is still not ready--somehow they believe that it's okay for billions of dollars in new taxpayer subsidies to go out the door without a bat of the eye on the honor system.

As hard as you work to earn every paycheck, how much more fraud in health care can we accept? Today we have the opportunity, and I think the responsibility, to hold the Federal Government's feet to the fire and insist it put in place strong protections that will end this pay first and chase later model that's been so ineffective at stopping fraud.

This bill simply insists that the independent inspector general of the Health and Human Services agency certifies there is a real, genuine program in place to stop fraud and abuse in ObamaCare by stopping taxpayer subsidies from going out the door to those who aren't eligible. Wow, that's radical in Washington--not paying those who aren't eligible.

This will give American taxpayers some assurance that we're protecting their hard-earned tax dollars. President Obama has admitted in ObamaCare it's not ready for businesses, and so he waived that. Everyone knows it's not ready for families and workers either. Is it asking too much to at least insist that it be ready to protect taxpayers against a mountain of more fraud?

Now, the White House and our Democratic friends tell us, trust us, we'll

verify everything before giving out taxpayer subsidies. Really? This is from the same White House that said exchanges may accept the applicant's attestation without further verification. This is from the same Health and Human Services agency that had to backtrack and explain maybe they would audit all of the applications, but not for State exchanges; they're on their own.

Sorry, but I'm not buying it, and nor are taxpayers in my State of Texas. Time and time again, Health and Human Services and the White House have ducked the real details about ObamaCare. They have no real plan in place. Meanwhile, taxpayer subsidies will fly out the door as individuals pinky swear that their income is accurate.

Only Members of Congress who refuse to stop fraud, who enjoy wasting taxpayer dollars, and who want to turn a blind eye to wasted money could oppose this bill. I strongly urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Black) who has really led the effort to stop fraud and abuse in ObamaCare and who understands health care herself.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford), the head of the Republican Policy Committee, and a leader in health care.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Griffin), a key member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, yielding myself 15 seconds, yesterday we learned the Federal Government is paying millions of dollars to prisoners for unemployment benefits, millions of dollars of your money to cons in prison. But don't worry, we'll stop the fraud in ObamaCare.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time in case the gentleman from Washington has additional speakers or would like to close on his side. We are prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, as I yield the balance of our time to the gentlelady from Tennessee, I make the case, this is simply choice. Those who want to stop fraud in ObamaCare support this bill. Those who want to turn a blind eye to that fraud oppose it.

I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black).

Mr. Speaker, I will enter into the Record four documents. One is a letter from the President, in his opposition to the bill. The second is technical assistance from the Inspector General, saying they have no ability to do this. The third is a cost estimate from CBO, and the fourth is a letter from HHS detailing their verification plans.

Executive Office of the President, Office of Management

and Budget,

Washington, DC, September 10, 2013.

Statement of Administration Policy

H.R. 2775--No Subsidies Without Verification Act

(Rep. Black, R-TN, and 103 cosponsors)

The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R.

2775 because the goal of the bill is already being

accomplished while the text of the bill would create delays

that could cost millions of hard-working middle-class

families the security of affordable health coverage and care

they deserve. It is time for the Congress to stop fighting

old political battles and join the President in an agenda

focused on providing greater economic opportunity and

security for middle class families and all those working to

get into the middle-class.

The Affordable Care Act gives people greater control over

their own health care and has already improved many aspects

of the Nation's health care system. Beginning in October

2013, millions of low- and middle-income Americans will be

eligible to receive tax credits to help them purchase

insurance and cost-sharing reductions to help with out-of-

pocket expenses for coverage effective January 1, 2014. Tens

of millions of Americans who have previously been denied

coverage due to a pre-existing medical condition will now be

covered. The nearly one in two Americans under the age of 65

with pre-existing medical conditions will have the peace of

mind that comes from knowing that they cannot be dropped from

their health plan or denied coverage because of those

conditions. House passage of H.R. 2775 would undermine this

security by delaying tax credits and cost-sharing reductions

that will otherwise be provided to millions of Americans.

H.R. 2775 is unnecessary because the Secretary of Health

and Human Services has already put in place an effective and

efficient system for verification of eligibility for premium

tax credits and cost sharing reductions. Moreover, it would

create vague standards for the Inspector General, whose

office has never performed this type of prospective review,

to ``successfully and consistently'' verify eligibility. As a

result, this legislation's unnecessary pre-certification

requirement would impede opening the Marketplaces on October

1, 2013, driving up out-of-pocket health care costs for

millions of Americans and reducing timely access to much-

needed and long-denied affordable coverage.

If the President were presented with H.R. 2775, his senior

advisers would recommend that he veto the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) to close our arguments.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.