Congress repeals burdensome 1099 requirement in Obamacare; full repeal may be on the way

Thursday, April 07, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: 1099, Obamacare, health news

(NaturalNews) The first signs of a full repeal of the Obama health care overhaul emerged this week when the US Congress finally voted to repeal key portions of the bill that would have imposed significant new tax and paperwork burdens on small businesses. US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) hailed the repeal as a "down payment on total repeal," indicating that the GOP-dominated Congress still plans to aggressively move forward against the bill.

The Washington Times reports that the move to eliminate the 1099 provision is the first major change to the health care bill that has taken place since it was first voted into law. And it was one that both Democrats and Republicans eventually ended up agreeing to oppose together, a move that may signal a significant boost in momentum towards increased bipartisan support for other key health care repeals.

The repealed 1099 provision would have allegedly raised about $19 billion to help pay for the enormous costs associated with Obamacare. Now that this funding source has been eliminated -- with nothing else having been put in its place as a replacement -- some of the logistical wind in the health bill's sails has also been removed.

"This was a provision in the health care law that pretty quickly everybody agreed was foolish," said Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), to POLITICO concerning the 1099 provision. "Once something becomes law in the federal government, it is very, very hard to amend it or tweak it unless there is unanimous agreement."

Meanwhile, several US states have begun taking the necessary steps to declare the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) null and void because it violates the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution. According to the Tenth Amendment Center, Tennessee recently passed the Tennessee Health Freedom Act, and at least 17 other states have introduced or pending health freedom legislation (http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/nullific...).

Sources for this story include:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr...

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bil...