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Friday Alert
Friday, January 23, 2009(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Obama Inauguration Brings Together
All Generations
On Tuesday, an
exuberant crowd braved frigid temperatures to
celebrate Barack Obama's
inauguration as the 44th president of the
United States. D.C. Mayor Adrian
Fenty estimated Tuesday's crowd at
"roughly" 1.8 million, shattering the previous
record of 1.2 million for President
Lyndon Johnson's 1965
inauguration, according to USA
Today. A mosaic of smiling faces of
all ages stretched across the national mall as
far as the eye could see. After the
swearing-in ceremony, 265 union members
participated in the official inaugural parade
for President Obama. The contingent of
union members taking part in the parade
included members from the AFL-CIO, Change to
Win and the National Education
Association. With 15 union members riding
a union-made float and 250 marchers alongside,
the workers' contingent was one of the largest
groups in the parade. It was also the first
time in recent memory that workers have
participated in the parade. Bowie,
Maryland resident Jimmy Allen
rode on the float and represented the Alliance
for Retired Americans.
Senate Finance Chairman Unveils Plan
to Give Seniors a Payment of
$300
Many retirees would receive a
one-time payment of $300 under a plan unveiled
today by Senate Finance Committee Chairman
Max Baucus (D-MT).
Baucus' proposal is part of an economic
stimulus bill, the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, and includes $275
billion in tax cuts and investments that will
provide relief for seniors and working
families, while creating jobs in fields like
green energy, highways, and health care.
Baucus' proposal includes a one-time payment of
$300 to Social Security beneficiaries and SSI
recipients receiving benefits from the Social
Security Administration and Railroad Retirement
beneficiaries. It would also provide a
one-time payment of $300 to veterans receiving
disability compensation and pension benefits
from the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs. The plan, which the Finance
Committee will formally consider on January 27,
also contains approximately $180 billion in
additional investments to help Americans who
have lost their jobs keep their health care
coverage and find new work, and to inject cash
into struggling state economies. Also,
the Senate Appropriations Committee will
consider a separate and additional package of
spending proposals.
Alliance Lobby Week Toolkit Now
Available
Alliance members worked
hard to elect a senior-friendly Congress.
Alliance Lobby Week, February 16-20 will be an
excellent opportunity to meet with your elected
officials to once again say that seniors are
counting on them to improve Medicare and Social
Security and lower the cost of prescription
drugs. After that week, U.S. Senators and
Representatives will return to Washington for a
congressional agenda that is expected to
include health care reform and other key
retiree issues. The Alliance has prepared
a Lobby Week Toolkit, which provides materials
to help make Lobby Week a success, from setting
up appointments to letting the national
Alliance know how your visit went. There
are talking points, a sample agenda, and
follow-up advice, as well as updated
legislative issue briefs on: stopping Medicare
privatization, long term care, the Medicare
Part D prescription drug plan, retirees' stake
in health care reform, and seniors and the
economy. For a copy of the toolkit, visit
http://www.retiredamericans.org/.
For more information on participation, please call: 1-888-373-6497, option #1, or email AllianceLobbyWeek@retiredamericans.org. "Among our goals are to form a Seniors' Advisory Committee, which can be a vehicle to keep our leaders regularly informed on our positions, including creating a health care system that covers all Americans," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. "We want to end Medicare privatization and Medicare Advantage overpayment subsidies, stop Social Security privatization or benefits cuts, and create a Medicare Part D program that works for seniors, not drug and insurance companies."
Seniors Underutilizing the VA's "Aid
and Attendance Benefit"
According
to the Veterans Administration, many veterans
and their families are not familiar with a
program to help with out-of-pocket medical
expenses. A handbook from the eldercare
services company Aging with Grace can provide
more information on the "Aid and Attendance
Benefit," including tips on completing the
necessary forms. The guidebook is
available free of charge to those with an Aging
with Grace membership, which is available at a
discount to those in the Alliance. For
additional information call toll free
1-866-570-8588 or visit http://www.agingwithgrace.net/veteranbenefit.php
.
Florida Alliance's "Burning Issues
Symposium" Gathers a Substantial Crowd
Florida Alliance (FLARA) President
Tony Fransetta participated as
a panelist in the 18th Annual Burning Issues
Symposium on Tuesday at the West Palm Beach
Community College. Mr. Fransetta extolled
the success of Social Security and Medicare and
suggested building on the success of those
programs. He also reminded the crowd of
more than 50 attendees of the Alliance
Executive Board's unanimous support for both
universal health care and the nationwide
implementation of computerized medical
records.
Reminder: 2009 Alliance Legislative
Conference June 15-18, 2009
In the
wake of November's historic elections, the
Alliance has moved up its 2009 Legislative
Conference to June 15-18 in Washington,
DC. Alliance members will have the
opportunity to hear from leading members of the
Obama administration, organize grassroots
activities to improve Medicare and strengthen
retirement security, and lobby on Capitol
Hill. In seminars, sessions, and
one-on-one meetings, you will be key in
ensuring that seniors get the change we fought
for in 2008. Registration details will be
available in the coming
weeks.
Did You
Know...
In fiscal year 2007, 1,225
employers voluntarily ended their pension plans
with assets sufficient to disburse all benefits
earned to workers (U.S. Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corp.).
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