February 3, 2015 The Honorable John Boehner Speaker U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Democratic Leader U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Speaker Boehner and Democratic Leader Pelosi: I write to share the strong support of the National Retail Federation (NRF) for H.R. 596, legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and related laws. Please note that NRF will consider votes on H.R. 596 and related procedural motions as Opportunity Index Votes for our annual voting scorecard. NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF opposed enactment of the ACA in 2010. In our view, the employer mandate and the lack of effective medical cost containment provisions are the major flaws. Dealing with the ACA’s employer mandate and reporting requirements have already brought unwanted cost and complexity to retail employers, despite the serial delays. Moreover, the numerous unintended consequences of the law have slowed the creation of new retail jobs and limited the hours available to part-time employees. While, the ACA has had some effect on the cost of health insurance, experts debate how much of this is due to the law versus natural cost trends. At best, the ACA has only slowed the rate of increase in the cost of medical care from hospitals and physicians. Gains in coverage have been real, but we saw arresting the rate of medical cost inflation as the far greater need. NRF has and will continue to work in good faith with Congress and the Administration to fix and improve the law wherever possible. We have been tireless in our efforts. Yet even the most basic of changes – such as changing the definition of a full-time employee – still draw unfounded partisan opposition and veto threats. Improving and fixing the ACA remains challenging at best, and finding real relief from the law’s burdens is elusive. We believe the best course of action would be to repeal the ACA in its entirety and begin a truly bipartisan discussion and debate on the future of our health care system. That is why we support H.R. 596 and urge your support as well. Sincerely, David French Senior Vice President Government Relations cc: Members, U.S. House of Representatives