Contact:   Gail Raiman, (703) 812-2073                         For Immediate Release 
                  Gerry Fritz, (703) 812-2062                           March 23, 2011

Washington, D.C. – On the one-year anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is urging Congress to repeal the law.

“Since this bill was signed into law, small business owners have watched insurance premiums increase, and in some cases their plans discontinued, forcing some to purchase more expensive policies or drop their coverage,” said 2011 ABC National Chairman Michael J. Uremovich, president of Great Lakes Energy Consultants, LLC, Manhattan, Ill. “Ultimately, this law fails to curb the cost of healthcare coverage and imposes new taxes and costly and burdensome federal government mandates on small businesses, including construction contractors.”

“For years, ABC has been calling on Congress to advance common-sense, free-market proposals that address the skyrocketing costs of health insurance, especially for employer-sponsored plans, as well as the rapidly rising number of uninsured Americans,” said Uremovich. “ABC believes true reform should provide greater choice and affordability and allow private insurers to compete for business.

“We urge Congress to repeal this health care law that has only served to hurt small businesses and increased premiums for millions of Americans,” Uremovich said. “We also urge Congress to continue working toward repealing the overly burdensome Form 1099 reporting mandate.”

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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 75 chapters representing more than 23,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with nearly two million employees. Visit us at www.abc.org.