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Friday Alert
Friday, May 8, 2009
(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Alliance's 2008 Voting Record
Shows Congress is Becoming More
Pro-Senior
On Monday, the Alliance
released a new report detailing the voting
record of every U.S. Senator and Representative
on key issues affecting current and future
retirees. "The 2008 voting record showed
a continuation of a pro-senior trend in
America, one which began with the 2006 midterm
elections and culminated with the historic
elections of 2008," said Alliance President
Barbara J.
Easterling. "Higher scores show a
commitment to improve health care, strengthen
Medicare, and put seniors ahead of drug and
insurance companies," Easterling added.
The Alliance voting record examines 10 key
Senate votes and 10 key House votes in 2008,
showing the roll calls on issues such as
stopping Social Security privatization and
fully funding the low-income energy assistance
program. Several votes addressed
Medicare, including overriding then-President
Bush's veto of a Medicare bill that made
improvements to the program.
According
to the research, 259 U.S. House members
received passing grades (higher than 60
percent), with 197 achieving perfect scores of
100 percent. 175 received failing grades
(60 percent or lower), with 14 receiving scores
of zero. One seat was vacant during these
votes. In the Senate, 58 members received
passing grades (higher than 60 percent), with
47 achieving perfect scores of 100
percent. 42 received failing grades (60
percent or lower), with only Sen. Jim Bunning
(R-KY) receiving a score of zero.
President Barack Obama, a senator last
year, received a perfect score, participating
in seven of the votes scored by the Alliance in
2008 despite the rigors of the campaign
trail. His opponent in the 2008
presidential general election, Senator John McCain,
missed all ten of the votes evaluated by the
Alliance in 2008. Unlike in recent years,
senior advocates now see a reason to believe
that positive change can be voted on by a
senior-friendly Congress and passed into law by
a senior-friendly president. "The voting
record tells seniors and those who follow
senior issues who our friends are in Congress,"
Easterling said. "It is a powerful
educational tool that keeps our elected
officials on their toes." To view the
voting record, go to http://www.retiredamericans.org/ht/display/ArticleDetails/i/12528/pid/381.
Older Americans
Month Continues with a Focus on Long Term
Care
May is Older Americans Month,
and all month long the Alliance is drawing
attention to retirees' stake in the health care
debate. Last week, Alliance activists
wrote Letters to the Editor and contacted their
members of Congress about allowing Americans
55-64 years old to buy into Medicare; improving
the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit;
and financing a public health care plan.
Week two of Older Americans Month kicks off on
Monday, with a theme for the week of "Long Term
Care and the CLASS (Community Living Assistance
Services and Supports) Act." For more
information, including fact sheets and what you
can do to participate, go to http://www.retiredamericans.org/ht/d/sp/i/12770/pid/12770.
"Thank you to all Alliance members who have
worked on this effort," said Edward F.
Coyle, Executive Director of the
Alliance.
Older Women's League To Release Elder
Abuse Report on Mother's Day
Anywhere from 500,000 to 5 million
individuals suffer from the effects of abuse,
neglect or financial exploitation in a given
year, and women are two-thirds of the
victims. This Mother's Day, OWL - The
Voice of Midlife and Older Women - is
highlighting the atrocity of elder abuse by
releasing a report entitled, Elder Abuse: A
Women's Issue. OWL will also be
hosting a Capitol Hill policy briefing on the
issue on Tuesday. The report covers
issues ranging from elder abuse from a feminist
perspective to the role of overmedication in
elder abuse. "This Mother's Day, OWL's
goals are to first, heighten awareness about
the abomination that we call elder abuse, and
second, to ignite the feminist and aging
advocacy grassroots to push together for
comprehensive federal abuse protections,"
stated Ashley
Carson, Executive Director of OWL.
Women have fought to pass adequate legislative
abuse protections for children and for the
victims and survivors of domestic violence, and
OWL believes that women can fight to pass elder
abuse protections in 2009. For more
information, go to http://www.owl-national.org/Welcome.html.
No Social Security
COLA Expected in 2010
Social Security
recipients could possibly see no cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) next year for the first time
in over 30 years, according to press reports
based on preliminary analysis by the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The
COLA is meant to ensure benefits rise with
consumer prices, but the economic downturn and
lower energy prices have led to low inflation
over the last year. CBO Director Douglas
Elmendorf has predicted low inflation
for several more years, meaning the possibility
of no Social Security COLA increase until
January 2013. While approximately
three-fourths of Medicare beneficiaries would
see no change in their Part B premiums without
the adjustment, since Medicare and Social
Security increases are linked, not all
beneficiaries are covered by such
protections.
President Obama to Nominate Kathy
Greenlee for Aging Post
Last week,
President Obama announced his intent to
nominate Kathy
Greenlee for Assistant Secretary of the
Administration on Aging, Department of Health
and Human Services. As Secretary of Aging
for the state of Kansas since January 2006,
Greenlee has been responsible for overseeing
the state's Older Americans Act programs,
distribution of Medicaid long-term care
payments and regulation of nursing home
licensure. "The Alliance is looking
forward to working with Assistant Secretary
Greenlee to protect Americans' retirement
security," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer
of the Alliance.
Reminder: 2009
Alliance Legislative Conference is June 15-18,
2009
The Alliance's 2009 Legislative
Conference will be June 15-18, in Washington,
DC at the Washington Hilton. Alliance
members will have the opportunity to meet with
Congressional representatives and
Administration officials, organize grassroots
activities to improve Medicare and strengthen
retirement security, and voice their opinions
in breakout sessions. To register, call
1-888-373-6497, go to www.unionvoice.org/retirees/events/conf_2009/details.tcl
or e-mail Joni
Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org.
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