U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta praised the House's unanimous passage Monday of his legislation to protect volunteer firefighters and emergency responders from the unintended consequences of the Affordable Care Act.

The Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act ensures that emergency services volunteers are not counted as full-time employees by the Internal Revenue Service under the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act.The House passed the measure on a rare unanimous vote of 401-0. It now heads to the Senate for its approval."To be clear, forcing volunteer fire companies to comply with Obamacare will not extend health insurance to the uninsured," Barletta, R-11, Hazleton, said in a release. "Rather, it will close firehouses, placing people at risk."Barletta authored the same legislation in the 113th Congress. It passed the House last March 11 by another unanimous vote of 410-0. When it reached the Senate, however, it became embroiled in politics, which killed the bill.Under the employer mandate provision of the health-care law, employers with 50 or more employees must provide health insurance or pay penalties. If volunteers were considered employees, fire companies could exceed the 50-employee threshold.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC