Letter to Leaders Reid and McConnell, Chairman Wyden and Senator Hatch - Extension of the Health Coverage Tax Credit by Portman and Brown

Letter

Dear Leaders Reid and McConnell, Chairman Wyden and Senator Hatch:

We wish to reaffirm our strong support for an extension of the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) before the 113th Congress adjourns for the year. As you know, the HCTC provision was a bipartisan amendment to the Senate tax extenders package that was introduced in the Senate by Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Rob Portman. Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House by Congressman Tim Ryan and Congressman Michael Turner. A March 2014 letter supporting the HCTC was signed by 28 Members of Congress and Senators from across the country, and is attached for your reference.

Across the country, the HCTC has helped tens of thousands of struggling families pay their health bills. These families include thousands of Delphi retirees whose pensions were terminated during the GM rescue and subsequently turned over to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. As you know well, many of 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees lost significant portions of their promised pensions.

Without the HCTC, which expired on January 1, 2014, these salaried retirees face financial hardship with up to 50 percent of their remaining pension going to fund their health care premiums. The Delphi retirees have spent all of this year paying for health care out of their own modest income. If Congress fails to act, these retirees will continue to struggle to pay their health care expenses. This is an issue that cannot wait. We urge you to pass the two-year HCTC extension as part of the tax extenders package before Congress adjourns.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.