Washington, DC – U.S. Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD (R-Southwest Louisiana) today applauded the U.S. Senate for finally passing the repeal of the unpopular 1099 provision in the health-care law. The vote was the first step towards undoing the damaging effects of the expensive, unpopular law.

“When everyone in Washington thinks a piece of legislation is bad, including both parties and the President, the law needs to go,” Boustany said. “Repealing this provision is the right thing to do, but is only the beginning of our work to fully dismantle this law. We need a practical health-care plan to improve quality, reduce costs and expand effective coverage, while improving the doctor-patient relationship. Now that Congress has acted, the President needs to sign this repeal into law.”

As a doctor on the Ways and Means Committee, Boustany has been vocal in his opposition to this expensive provision. He repeatedly called for a repeal of Obamacare and replacement with a practical health-care plan that protects the doctor-patient relationship.

The new health-care law expanded tax reporting rules by requiring businesses to issue a Form1099 for any payments to corporations and for any payments for property that exceed $600 per year per payee. This new requirement imposes a huge tax compliance burden on small businesses, forcing them to devote resources to tax filing instead of to business expansion and job creation. 

The repeal was approved by the Senate with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 87-12. Legislation passed the House of Representatives on March 3 by a 314-112 vote, with 76 Democrats backing the measure.

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