Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to repealing the CLASS Act.

You know, we all get old, or hopefully we will all get old and reach an elderly status, and we will then perhaps become physically unable to get around a whole lot and we may need to have some long-term care. Tea Partiers will need it. Occupy Wall Streeters will need it. Mitt Romney and his group of 15 percent taxpayers will need it. The only question is whether or not the 99ers and the Tea Partiers will be able to afford it. That is the only question. We're in the same boat.

The CLASS Act was included in the health care law in order to help elderly and functionally disabled Americans purchase the services they need, which would enable them to continue living in their communities, as opposed to being forced into expensive private care which most of us can afford.

So I understand that HHS had determined that the CLASS Act cannot be implemented as written based on financial considerations; but, ladies and gentlemen, that's no reason to throw out or to repeal this worthwhile initiative. We certainly need to improve it, but there's no need to repeal it.

No matter what side of the political aisle you sit on, you cannot ignore that we need to improve access to long-term care. Approximately 10 million Americans are in need of long-term care, and this number is expected to increase to 15 million over the next decade. America is aging.

In 2009, an estimated 62 million unpaid family caregivers provided $450 billion in care. At what cost to their jobs, to their family life with their children?

In 2011, the average annual cost of a nursing home was $70,000. Who can afford that?

The cost of long-term care is an unsustainable burden on family members who, while also holding a job and raising a family, struggled to provide their disabled or elderly relatives with the care that they need to continue living within their own communities.

The CLASS Act is a voluntary program. It's no mandate. Don't get it twisted. There is no mandate, individual mandate for the CLASS Act. It's a voluntary program that relies on free market principles of responsibility and competition that my colleagues in the Republican Party claim to revere. There's no mandate in this program. It would allow families of all means to plan for a secure future where a long life or a disability does not lead to financial ruin.

Take, for instance, one of my constituents, Linda Rawlins. Linda was the primary caregiver for her elderly mother until her recent passing. Linda told me that she supports the CLASS Act because millions of Americans just like her feel overwhelmed or face financial distress due to their roles as family caregivers who cannot receive any kind of assistance.

Although Linda's mother received long-term care through a local senior assistance program that enabled her to continue living at home, Linda knows that not everyone is so lucky. Having access to long-term care services enabled Linda's mother to live independently with grace and with dignity. It allowed Linda to keep her job and helped relieve the emotional and financial strains placed on her and her family as she oversaw her mother's care.

Linda and I feel like everyone should have that kind of support, and the CLASS Act is a good place to start. Repealing the CLASS Act without any attempt to improve it is a rash political move, and I urge my colleagues to oppose the bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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