On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee passed Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Rep. Adrian Smith’s (NE-03) Employer Reporting Improvement Act with a bipartisan vote. The bill now goes to the House floor for consideration.

“I am glad that the Ways and Means Committee today passed my bill reducing administrative burdens and making it easier for businesses to comply with the Affordable Care Act,” Thompson said on Wednesday. “This bill will streamline reporting requirements so companies can focus on what they do best — creating jobs and growing our local economies.”

“The Employer Reporting Improvement Act is an important step toward streamlining employer reporting requirements,” said Rep. Smith. “Now more than ever, employers need certainty to navigate the evolving needs of the workforce, and I’m glad to see this bipartisan bill favorably reported out of the Ways and Means Committee.”

The Employer Reporting Improvement Act:

• Protects privacy by eliminating the requirement that employers collect not only their workers’ Social Security Numbers (SSNs) but their workers’ dependents’ SSNs.
• Allows electronic submission of certain forms to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which previously had to be faxed.
• Provides employers a notice before the IRS levies penalties against them if they are not complying with Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements.
• Gives the IRS more time to go after bad actors who don’t meet their ACA obligations to provide their employees with coverage that meets certain standards.

Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.