Today, Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (NC-10) released the statement below following passage of H.R. 30, the Save American Workers Act:

“Obamacare has hurt countless Western North Carolinians by cancelling policies, driving up premiums, and cutting hours and wages. Today the House acted to reverse one of the law’s most destructive effects: the redefinition of full-time work as 30 hours, a policy that hits American workers living paycheck to paycheck the hardest.

“By passing the Save American Workers Act, the House will help increase hours and wages for lower skilled and entry-level workers by returning the definition of full time work to the standard Americans have always known, 40 hours.  I look forward to the Senate passing this bipartisan reform and strongly urge President Obama to focus on the best interests of the American workers and reconsider his veto threat.”

H.R. 30 amends the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) employer mandate by changing the definition of full-time employee under the ACA as an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours per week.  Present law sets full-time employees as those that work an average of 30 hours per week.