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Friday Alert
Friday, May 2, 2008
(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Release of
New Voting Record Commemorates Start of Older
Americans Month
Marking the beginning
of Older Americans Month, the new 2007
congressional voting record released on May 1
by the Alliance details the voting record of
every U.S. Senator and Representative on key
issues affecting current and future
retirees. The document is available at
www.retiredamericans.org. “As our
leaders in Washington vote on prescription
drugs, Medicare, Social Security, health care,
and pensions, politically savvy seniors need to
know where their elected officials stand on
these important issues,” said Alliance
President George J. Kourpias. “I am
not the only one who worries that this may be
the last generation that ever gets to retire,”
Kourpias said, noting a recent nationwide
survey of seniors in which 88 percent of
respondents did not believe their children or
grandchildren would have the quality of life
that they have had. The Alliance voting
record examines 10 key Senate votes and 10 key
House votes in 2007, showing the roll calls on
blocking Social Security privatization,
lowering Medicare costs, expanding access to
affordable health care, stopping oil price
gouging, and protecting voting rights.
The document shows that 244 U.S. House members
received passing grades (60 percent or higher),
with 176 achieving perfect scores of 100
percent. 189 received failing grades
(below 60 percent), with 66 receiving scores of
zero. Two seats were vacant during these
votes.
In the Senate, 52 members
received passing grades (60 percent or higher),
with 31 achieving perfect scores of 100
percent. Forty-seven received failing
grades (below 60 percent), with 27 receiving
scores of zero. Senator Tim Johnson
(D-SD) missed these votes due to illness.
Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
each scored 100 percent, while Senator John McCain
scored a zero on the ten votes evaluated by the
Alliance in 2007. The widespread voter
discontent in the 2006 congressional elections
ushered in a new Congress that sought to
improve health care, reduce drug prices, and
end taxpayer overpayments to private insurance
companies who operate Medicare Advantage
programs. Unfortunately for America’s
seniors, these efforts were stymied by
opposition from the White House and
pharmaceutical and insurance lobbyists.
Midwestern Regional Meeting Yields Three
Regional Board Members
On Monday and
Tuesday of this week, the Alliance held its
Midwestern Regional Meeting - the third of four
regional meetings in 2008 - in St. Louis,
Missouri. Speakers included Robert
Kortkamp, President of the Missouri
Alliance, and Hugh McVey, President of the
Missouri AFL-CIO. Alliance President
George J.
Kourpias swore in the following
newly-elected regional board members to the
Alliance Executive Board for their sub-regions:
Elmer
Blankenship of Indiana; Missouri’s
Robert Kortkamp; and Joyce Hermanstorfer of
Iowa. The final Regional Meeting, the
Southern Regional Meeting, will be held June
4-5, 2008 in Orlando, Florida. For copies
of the official registration form, call
1-888-373-6497, email Joni Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org,
or visit www.retiredamericans.org.
Supreme Court Voter
Identification Ruling Burdens Older
Voters
States can require voters to
produce photo identification, the Supreme Court
ruled on Monday, upholding a
Republican-inspired law that Democrats say will
keep some poor, older and minority voters from
casting ballots. Twenty-five states
require some form of ID, and the court's
decision rejecting a challenge to Indiana's
strict voter ID law could encourage others to
adopt their own measures. The ruling
means the ID requirement will be in effect for
next week's presidential primary in Indiana,
where a significant number of new voters are
expected to turn out for the Democratic contest
between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack
Obama. Supporters of the law say
it is all about preventing fraud. The
court, voting 6-3, rejected Democratic
contentions that the Indiana law will impose an
unconstitutional burden on seniors. But
data elsewhere give reason for concern.
“According to a 2005 University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee study, more than 20 percent
of Wisconsin's citizens aged 65 and over lack a
license or state photo ID, 70 percent of them
women,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer
of the Alliance.
New
Hampshire Alliance Addresses America’s Growing
Uninsured
Last Saturday, the New
Hampshire Alliance for Retired Americans
(NHARA) joined “New Hampshire for Health Care”
and other health care advocacy groups in
Manchester to kick-off the sixth annual
national Cover the Uninsured Week, occurring
April 27 - May 3. At a short press
conference that was followed by a health care
canvass in local neighborhoods, NHARA President
John
Mendolusky addressed the affordability
of health care in America, and urged New
Hampshire’s Senators, Judd Gregg and John Sununu,
to vote to allow Medicare to negotiate with
pharmaceutical manufacturers and to support a
universal health care system. “Medicare
has proved not only to be a huge success but an
absolute savior for millions of America’s
seniors,” said Mendolusky. “However,
quality, affordable healthcare is not merely a
seniors’ issue. We demand a system that
provides quality, affordable healthcare for our
children and grandchildren.”
Alliance Loses
Pennsylvania Executive Vice President Ellie
Kuhns
Ellie Kuhns, Executive Vice
President of the Pennsylvania Alliance for
Retired Americans, passed away on Sunday, April
27. “Ellie had been a great inspiration
to everyone who knew her, whether they were a
UNITE/HERE member, a fellow PARA Executive
Board member or a member of her community in
Shamokin, PA,” said Jean Friday, President of the
Pennsylvania Alliance. Ms. Kuhns’
inspiration was recently felt by attendees of
the Alliance’s 2008 Northeastern Regional
Meeting, where she delivered the welcoming
speech. “Ellie was a tireless advocate
not just for seniors, but for a better life for
all people,” said Edward Coyle, Executive Director
of the Alliance. “Her passing is a
tremendous loss, and she will be sorely
missed.”
Oregon Alliance Holds Its
Convention
The Oregon Alliance held
its annual convention last Saturday. The
fifty delegates in attendance heard from state
legislators, aging advocates, and labor
leaders, and discussed issues including long
term care.
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