ATR President Grover Norquist today sent the following letter to Congressman Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Senator John Thune (R-S.D.):
On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform, I am pleased to support H.R. 1173 and S. 720, bills which would repeal the accounting gimmick known as the “CLASS Act.”
A deliberate fraud was perpetrated on the American people in the jobs-killing Obamacare law. One of the justifications for this bill not “costing” as much was the inclusion of the “CLASS Act,” a new and under-funded (after the first decade) entitlement program that everyone acknowledged was unworkable. The Obama Administration itself confirmed that the CLASS Act was fatally-flawed on October 14, 2011. As a result, the CLASS Act is administratively-dormant, but still part of the law.
Make no mistake—everyone involved in the passage of Obamacare knew that the true costs of the bill were being hidden from the American people by the inclusion of the CLASS Act. Everyone knew that after Obamacare became law, the Obama Administration would simply rescind the CLASS Act and increase the cost of Obamacare. There needs to be accountability on the part of those who did this.
It’s also important to make sure that the CLASS Act does not remain on the books as a “loaded gun” in the future. That’s why it’s important to repeal the CLASS Act to prevent it from ever going into effect. This should be a part of the larger effort to repeal the entire Obamacare law.
I would urge all Congressmen to co-sponsor H.R. 1173. I would urge all Senators to co-sponsor S. 720.