{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=fbe874e8-3523-45b1-81ce-9b361eeb5864", "GOP Senators Introduce Bill to Prevent Special Union Exemption From ObamaCare Reinsurance Tax", "2013-11-19", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Following media reports that the Obama administration is once again trying to find a way to exempt unions from ObamaCare\u2019s numerous taxes and mandates, U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and eight of their Republican colleagues today introduced the Union Tax Fairness Act (S. 1724), a bill to prevent union health care plans, known as Taft-Hartley plans, from being exempted from the ObamaCare reinsurance tax. \u00a0\r\n\u201cUnions should not be granted a special exemption from ObamaCare\u2019s reinsurance tax just because the president fears further union backlash on his signature law,\u201d said Thune. \u201cThese unions agreed to pay this tax when they endorsed ObamaCare, but now that they are finding out what the law means for them and their plans, they want out. Rather than granting special backroom deals to political allies, the administration should support fairness for all by permanently delaying the law for every American.\u201d\r\n\u00a0Alexander said, \u201cThe Obama Administration should not reward its labor union friends and allies who helped pass the health care law by giving them a carveout from the law\u2019s worst provisions.\u00a0This hefty reinsurance fee is one of the many job-killing taxes that helped pay for the passage of the law\u2014the administration should be embarrassed that it would consider exempting their union cronies without providing similar relief to our nation\u2019s employers and faith-based and charitable organizations.\u201d\r\n\u201cThe Obama Administration can't just circumvent Congress whenever it wants to curry favor with its political allies,\u201d said Hatch. \u201cSince the overwhelming majority of self-administered health insurance plans are run by unions, let's call this what it is: a political payback by the Administration to its union friends for backing this disastrous law. But the fact is, the White House doesn\u2019t have the authority to change the law on its own and, as this bill makes clear, any attempt at a Big Labor carveout from ObamaCare must be approved by Congress.\u201d\r\nThe ObamaCare reinsurance tax is scheduled to begin in 2014 and requires all self-insured plans to pay a tax for each person covered under a health plan. The tax was designed to provide funds to health care plans in the ObamaCare exchanges to help absorb the cost of care for people with pre-existing conditions. Thune\u2019s bill would prevent the White House from providing a special fix for unions that would exempt them from the reinsurance tax.\r\nIn addition to Alexander and Hatch, Thune\u2019s bill is co-sponsored by Senators James Inhofe (R-Okla.), David Vitter (R-La.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). \u00a0\u00a0\r\nLast week, Thune, Alexander, and Hatch also led 18 of their Republican Senate colleagues in sending a letter that urged the Obama administration not to move forward with a proposed regulation that would exempt unions from the reinsurance tax.\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=fbe874e8-3523-45b1-81ce-9b361eeb5864"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.544217113405466, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}