As prepared for delivery.

“I appreciate the opportunity to say a few words about the Employer Reporting Improvement Act before us today – introduced by my Ways and Means colleagues Representatives Adrian Smith and Mike Thompson. This is a straightforward and effective bipartisan solution to provide small businesses with relief from cumbersome Affordable Care Act reporting requirements.

“Under current law, every year – to determine compliance with ACA requirements – employers have to report to the IRS information about the health insurance coverage they’ve provided their employees.

“As part of that process, employers are required to submit their employee and their spouse or dependents’ personal tax identification numbers or Social Security numbers. But here’s the catch: if during this process the employer unknowingly submits incorrect information or if the IRS believes an employee is wrongfully claiming a premium tax credit – the employer faces a significant financial penalty.

“Making matters worse, the window of opportunity that employer has to appeal is short, while the statute of limitations on that violation is limitless.

“On average, the IRS takes anywhere between 18 to 24 months – two years – to crunch the numbers on all this data they receive. That means, the small business is left in limbo waiting to hear whether the government will find them in violation of the law.

“The bill before us today gives employers flexibility about what personal information they have to provide on behalf of their employees and their families. It extends the appeal window for any potential violation and establishes a statute of limitations so those small businesses – who have limited resources to begin with – can navigate these waters with less of a burden.

“I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting this measure to provide relief to our small business job creators.”