{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-protect-volunteer-firefighters-and-emergency-responders", "Donnelly: Protect Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Joe Donnelly", "D000607", "www.donnelly.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Donnelly: Protect Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 17, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, D.C. \u2013 Senator Joe Donnelly announced his support for the Protect Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act today, a bill that would amend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to clarify that volunteer emergency service workers are not required to be counted as full-time equivalents (FTEs) for the purposes of health care coverage.\r\n\u201cVolunteer firefighters and other first responders who donate their time to serve Hoosiers are an essential part of many Indiana communities,\u201d said Donnelly.\u00a0 \u201cIt is important that fire departments are able to distinguish between full-time, paid emergency personnel and volunteer personnel so they can keep costs low and services at full capacity.\u00a0 This bipartisan bill is another common sense way that we can clarify the Affordable Care Act to better work for Hoosiers.\u201d\u00a0\r\nUnder the ACA, employers with more than 50 full-time employees or FTEs are required to provide employees with health insurance or face a penalty.\u00a0 Because the IRS already considers volunteer emergency personnel as employees for federal tax purposes, there is concern that volunteers will be included in the FTE calculation.\r\nThis bipartisan legislation has been endorsed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Volunteer Fire Council, and Congressional Fire Services Institute.\r\nIn June, Donnelly and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Forty Hours is Fully Time Act of 2013, which would change the definition of \u201cfull time\u201d in the ACA from 30 to 40 hours per week and the number of hours counted toward a \u201cfull-time equivalent\u201d employee up to 174 hours per month. Donnelly and Collins proposed this change to bring it in line with what most Americans have traditionally recognized as full time. \u00a0Donnelly noted that\u00a0some employers have chosen to cut current part-time employees\u2019 hours due to this definition, which leaves too many Indiana families struggling to make ends meet. \u00a0\u00a0\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\t\tDonnelly_Press@Donnelly.Senate.Gov", 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.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-protect-volunteer-firefighters-and-emergency-responders"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.526002936065197, "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"}