Today, the Ways and Means Committee is considering H.R. 1173, “The Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011,” which repeals the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, a program included in the Democrats' health care law.  H.R. 1173 is supported by organizations across the country including Americans for Tax Reform, National Federation of… Read more

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… Read more

Yesterday, White House Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Alan Krueger delivered a speech echoing the same divisive “us against them” rhetoric President Obama hit on during a December 2011 speech in Osawatomie, Kansas.  However, in a recent essay, Scott Winship of the Brookings Institute challenges Krueger and Obama’s claim that it is more difficult today for a child born into a… Read more

Washington, DC – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is sidestepping several important disclosure requirements with the new health care law and is preventing Congress and the American public from being able to assess the true costs associated with the so-called “essential health benefits,” according to a letter sent today to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from several House… Read more

“Everyone agrees we must do more to ensure that our government runs efficiently and makes the best use of taxpayer dollars.  While we welcome the ability to reduce duplication and streamline government services, we are concerned about the impact that the President’s proposal could have on the ability of the United States to aggressively open new markets to American-made goods and… Read more

Washington, DC - Today, the National Taxpayer Advocate issued its 2011 Annual Report to Congress.  In response to the release of the report, Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany Jr., MD (R-LA) released the following statement: “Today's Taxpayer Advocate report provides a glimpse into the challenges facing taxpayers as they struggle with a broken tax… Read more

Washington, DC - Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement in response to the announced retirement of fellow Committee member Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA) at the end of the 112th Congress.   “As the most senior Republican member of this Committee, Wally has served in nearly every capacity and has overseen some of the Committee’s most… Read more

Washington, DC - Today, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) released the following statement in reaction to the December jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor.  A net total of 200,000 jobs were created and the unemployment rate for December was 8.5 percent, marking 35 consecutive months during which the unemployment rate has exceeded 8 percent.  If we were to… Read more

Then In a November 30, 2003 New York Times op-ed titled “The Unemployment Myth,” former Obama chief economist Austan Goolsbee argued that “the government has cooked the books…in order to reduce the unemployment rate.”  How?  By failing to count “the invisible unemployed” among the official unemployed.  By not counting those who have stopped looking for work, including… Read more

Nancy Pelosi famously said that paying more unemployment benefits “creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name.”  But as a recent Washington Post article highlights, the fine print behind such claims is about to come due, and many employers “may be shocked” by the tax hikes on jobs they are about to experience.   Employers – prepare for these tax… Read more