Washington, D.C.– The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, in a unanimous vote, that would protect volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMT) from onerous regulations under the health care law that could result in reduced hours. Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) voted in favor of the bill, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act which exempts volunteers from the health care law’s employer mandate. Under current law, volunteer firefighters and EMTs can be counted as full-time employees, forcing many smaller departments to cut hours to stay below the employer mandate threshold.

“With many fire departments’ budgets stretched thin, volunteers play an important role in being able to respond quickly to emergencies,” said Paulsen. “I’ve heard loud and clear from Minnesota firefighters that they need this flexibility to ensure that volunteer firefighter and EMT hours will not be cut due to regulations under the health care law.”

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Congressman Paulsen’s work in Congress visit paulsen.house.gov. 

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