House GOP Leaders To Call for Vote on Economic Stimulus Package That Includes Tax Credits for Uninsured

House Republican leaders on March 6 plan to call for a vote on a bill that would extend unemployment benefits and provide tax credits to help unemployed workers purchase health insurance, CongressDaily/AM reports. The bill represents the "latest round" in the debate over economic stimulus legislation (Wegner, CongressDaily/AM, 3/6). The bill would extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks and provide one-year tax credits to cover up to 60% of the cost of health insurance for unemployed workers. Unemployed workers who lost their jobs between March 15, 2001, when most economists say that the recession began, and Jan. 1, 2004, and had health coverage for the previous year, would qualify for tax credits under the bill (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/5). Those who qualify could apply to receive the tax credit in advance to purchase health insurance (Koszczuk, Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/6). The legislation will require a two-thirds vote to pass, CongressDaily/AM reports. A spokesperson for House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said that "there might be enough Democratic votes" to pass the bill. The House has passed three economic stimulus bills in the past six months, and two of the three included the tax credit provision. None of the bills made it out of the Senate (CongressDaily/AM, 3/6).

Senate Action Unlikely
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said that he "would not allow action" on the House GOP bill in the Senate, "in effect shelving the bill." The only component of economic stimulus legislation that the Senate has passed is an extension of unemployment benefits. Democrats say that the tax credit provision would "undermine employer-sponsored health insurance." Daschle also said that he thought Republicans would use the tax credit measure "as an excuse" to add other business-friendly tax provisions to the legislation (Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/6). House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) "faulted" Senate Democrats for their opposition to the tax credit proposal. But in a letter to Hastert, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) urged House Republican leaders to "abandon the unproductive approach" of "complicating the issue" of unemployment benefits with a health insurance tax credit (CongressDaily, 3/5).