Letter to John Boehner, Speaker, and Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, of the House - Include HCTC into Omnibus Package

Letter

The Honorable John Boehner The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Pelosi:

We wish to affirm our strong support for including an extension of the Health Coverage Tax Credit in the omnibus legislation the House is set to take up during this lame duck session of Congress. As you know, proposals to extend the HCTC have received bipartisan support in the Senate.

Across the country, the HCTC helps 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, the 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees lost up to 70 percent of their 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 salaried retirees have spent all of this year paying for health care out of their own modest income. If Congress fails to act, the pensions of these retirees will not be made whole when they file their 2014 returns. This is an issue that cannot wait. We urge you to include a two year extension of the HCTC in the funding bill that clears the House before Congress adjourns.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.