Bipartisan Effort Underway To Oppose Employee-Sponsored Health-Benefit Taxes

Representatives  Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) sent a bipartisan letter to the Super Committee on Friday urging its members not to incorporate new taxes on employer-sponsored health benefits in their effort to reduce the deficit.

“Efforts to cap or to eliminate these tax exclusions would have far reaching consequences that would not only reduce health coverage for millions of Americans, but would also increase long-term federal spending obligations,” the letter argued. 

“Considering these consequences would negate federal tax income generated from the change and would have little impact on reducing our federal debt,” the letter continued, “we would encourage you to reject proposals to scale back or eliminate tax exclusions for employer-sponsored health coverage.”

The bipartisan letter was cosigned by 160 House members.