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Friday Alert 1/25/08
Friday, January 25, 2008
(Alliance for Retired Americans)State of the
Union Address Likely to Reveal Bush’s Vision
for Seniors in ’08
President
Bush will give his 2008 State of the
Union address Monday night at 9:00 P.M.
He is expected to discuss ongoing efforts to
stimulate the economy, and will likely reveal
his proposal for changing the Medicare
physician fee formula. According to CongressDaily, congressional
aides and lobbyists say the details of that
proposal “could significantly alter Capitol
Hill discussions surrounding Medicare and other
health-related issues.” Bush supporters
have dubbed 2008 his “legacy year,” when
they hope to lock in his achievements on the
domestic front and raise his 34% approval
rating to about 45%. “Savvy seniors pay
close attention to events like the State of the
Union address,” said Edward Coyle,
Executive Director of the Alliance.
“Fortunately, the Social Security
privatization idea that President Bush floated
in previous State of the Union addresses has
not come to pass, but we must remain
vigilant. The safety net that Social
Security provides is more important than ever
as stock values and real estate prices
fall.” The President made news
regarding Social Security in the run-up to his
State of the Union address. White House
staff notified the Senate on Wednesday that Mr.
Bush was withdrawing Andrew C. Biggs' nomination for a
term lasting through 2013 as Deputy
Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration (SSA). In April, President
Bush had used a recess appointment to place Mr.
Biggs in the number-two SSA job on a temporary
basis. That action came after Senate
Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) vowed his panel
would not consider Biggs's nomination because
of his support for private investment accounts
within Social Security.
Free Hotline to Help
with Questions, Problems About Super
Tuesday
With two-dozen states holding
primaries on February 5, the non-partisan
organization Election Protection is operating a
free telephone hotline, where trained legal
volunteers are answering questions and helping
to fix problems. Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE
(1-866-687-8683) for help before or after
voting to ask questions about rules or report
problems experienced at the polls. Legal
volunteers can provide information about voting
in your state, but are also ready to work with
local election officials to resolve issues and
file emergency lawsuits if necessary. The
voter protection hotline is available for every
Super Tuesday state, but Election Protection is
also running comprehensive programs in
California, Georgia, Illinois, and New
York.
Nevada Alliance Brings Record Number of
Retirees to State’s Caucuses
The
Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans (NARA)
took the lead on bringing retirees into the
state’s first early Presidential caucuses on
Saturday, January 19. Board members were
taught how to become temporary precinct chairs
and encourage others to participate in a
strong, educated turnout. Training was
also conducted for members at last summer’s
NARA convention, offering participants the
opportunity to ask questions about the process
and take part in a mock caucus. As a
result of their careful organizing, every NARA
board member, many of the chapter presidents
and countless members served as precinct caucus
chairs or secretaries. “Thanks to the
Nevada Alliance for such a strong, grassroots,
neighbor-to-neighbor movement that brought so
many of their members into the process,”
said George J.
Kourpias, President of the
Alliance. The record turnout of about
160,000 people was partly attributed to
concerns about health care. Recent polls
found the issue to be a top priority for the
people of Nevada, a state with low Medicaid
reimbursement rates, a very high rate of people
– 18.3% – without health insurance, and
many rural areas where doctors can be harder to
find. “Credit goes to U.S. Senator
Harry
Reid, U.S. Congresswoman Shelley
Berkley and Nevada State AFL-CIO
Executive Secretary Treasurer Danny
Thompson for bringing the caucuses to
Nevada and showing the country that this is a
state of diversity,” said Scott Watts,
president of the Nevada Alliance.
“Across the state we found new friends and
neighbors, and we will take this solidarity and
activism with us into November.”
Emergency Room Wait
Times Becoming Dangerously
Long
According to a recent study
published in the journal Health
Affairs, emergency room wait times are
continuing to rise, even in cases when delays
could mean life or death. Fifty percent
of all emergency room patients in 2004 waited
at least 30 minutes to see a doctor, and half
of all people experiencing heart attacks waited
at least 20 minutes, significantly longer than
the eight minutes they were delayed in
1997. A growing number of people seeking
non-emergency care, personnel shortages, an
aging population, and a decreasing number of
hospitals - and therefore emergency departments
- all contributed to the increased waits.
“No one should have to rely on an emergency
room as a primary care physician,” said Ruben Burks,
Secretary-Treasurer of the
Alliance.
National Alliance Leaders’ Events of
Note
On Saturday, George
Kourpias spoke at the Texas AFL-CIO’s
annual political conference in Austin.
Later in the week, on Thursday, Edward Coyle
spoke at the Prescription Access Litigation
(PAL) Annual Dinner in Washington, DC.
The dinner was in honor of Dianna
Porter, former Director of Policy at the
Alliance in the Department of Government and
Political Affairs, who retired recently.
Ms. Porter was the Alliance’s liaison to PAL,
a national coalition of groups that challenge
illegal and costly tactics by the
pharmaceutical industry.
Regional Conference
Rapidly Approaching
The national
Alliance will hold its first regional
conference of 2008, March 24-26 in Las Vegas,
NV. The Western Regional Conference will
provide a forum to work with other activists in
the region to learn how to increase grassroots
advocacy, get seniors and retirees registered
and voting, and educate federal, state and
local legislators on the issues that concern
retirees and seniors, including prescription
drugs, Medicare, Social Security and retirement
security. Join us to set the course for
the Alliance and for a country that cares about
workers, retirees and their families. For
copies of the official registration form for
any of the four regional conferences, call
1-888-373-6497, email Joni Jones at jjones@retiredamericans.org,
or visit our website at www.retiredamericans.org.
Locations and dates for later conferences
are: Northeastern Regional Conference,
April 17-18, 2008 in Philadelphia, PA;
Midwestern Regional Conference, April 28-29,
2008 in St. Louis, MO; and Southern Regional
Conference, June 4-5, 2008 in Orlando, FL.
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