Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement after the committee voted to favorably report H.R. 1173, “The Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011,” sponsored by Committee Member Charles Boustany Jr., MD (R-LA), to repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act.  In October 2011, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius suspended implementation of the program after determining that the program could not be operated in a fiscally viable manner.
 
“Today we have taken steps to repeal yet another poorly-designed and unworkable piece of the Democrats’ health care law.  Opposition to the CLASS program is bipartisan, and includes employers, seniors and fiscal watchdog groups.  Clearly, this fatally flawed program is nothing more than a budget gimmick, which even the Administration has admitted.”
 
The Committee approved H.R. 1173 with a bipartisan vote of 23-13.