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Friday Alert 2/15/08
Friday, February 15, 2008
(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Two D.C.
Events Spotlight Bush Budget Cuts for
Seniors
The Alliance joined the
American Federation of Government Employees and
Americans United for Change on Monday in
calling on lawmakers to fully fund the Social
Security Administration (SSA) and pass
legislation giving Congress more control over
the agency's operations. H.R. 5110, the
“Social Security Customer Service Improvement
Act,” introduced by Rep. Brian Higgins
(D-NY), would eliminate the President’s power
to change SSA’s budget request, demand
justification for the closure of Social
Security offices 180 days before the shutdown
occurs, and require Congress to be notified 90
days before the agency's workforce plan is
changed. The bill would also provide SSA
with Commissioner Michael Astrue’s full funding
request, as President Bush’s proposed budget
shortchanged the agency by $100 million.
“We must keep local SSA offices open to offer
easy access to seniors who can't travel longer
distances or deal with the maze of automated
phone calls,” said Edward Coyle, Executive Director
of the Alliance. On Tuesday, Alliance
Executive Vice President Judy Cato
spoke at a U.S. Capitol event with Senators
Kent
Conrad (ND), Robert Menendez (NJ), and Debbie
Stabenow (MI), as well as
students. Ms. Cato articulated multiple
problems with the Bush Budget which will affect
seniors, including: Medicare cuts of $556
billion over ten years; Medicare means-testing;
and only funding LIHEAP, the low-income home
heating assistance program, at approximately
half of its authorized funding level.
“Means-testing undermines the social
insurance nature of the Medicare program,
raising costs for seniors who are dependent on
it. Over time, that would lead to more
middle-class seniors like myself paying higher
premiums,” said Ms. Cato.
President Bush Signs
Stimulus Bill; Rebate Checks Begin in
May
The President signed a
multibillion-dollar economic package on
Wednesday that means $300 to $1,200 rebates for
many American households. Rebates are set
to go out beginning in May, and will include
seniors living on Social Security. Most
taxpayers will receive a check of up to $600
for individuals and $1,200 for couples.
Seniors earning at least $3,000 and who owe
little or no taxes would get $300 for singles,
$600 for couples. Those making more than
$75,000 and couples with income over $150,000
will get smaller checks. Rebates to
seniors and disabled vets were scaled down from
$500 under the original Senate package after
the president personally lobbied against
including them, according to Sen. Max Baucus
(D-MT) and the publication Politico.
HHS Secretary Leavitt
Warns of Future Medicare Cuts
The
President is planning to propose legislation to
revamp not only Medicare, but health care
generally, in response to a statutory
requirement that it submit a plan to Congress
to rein in Medicare spending. The
Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) established a
“trigger” requiring that when the Medicare
trustees project the program will be more than
45% funded by general government revenue, as
opposed to Medicare’s trust fund, for two
years in a row, the President propose
legislation to reduce Medicare spending.
The trustees issued their second consecutive
warning in April, and Health and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt told a House panel
at a Wednesday hearing that the proposal
required by the trigger provision would be
submitted before February 21. Democrats
at the hearing angrily accused the
administration of trying to kill off the
Medicare program, according to CQ
HealthBeat. “You suggest we rely
on the private sector, but conveniently fail to
point out that system costs taxpayers far more
than traditional Medicare,” said Rep. Pete Stark
(D-CA), Chair of the House Ways and Means
Committee.
Alliance
Backs Campaign to Improve Retiree
Housing
The Alliance continues to
support the Building Justice campaign, led by
the Sheet Metal Workers and Painters unions,
which seeks to improve the quality of new homes
and the working conditions for those who build
them. The campaign is targeting Pulte, a
builder whose Del Webb "active adult"
communities account for 45% of the company's
overall revenues. A new report, available
at http:///.info, seeks to call
attention to the impact of poor working
conditions. Last summer, representatives
of the company sprayed high-power water hoses
on community activists picketing an Arizona
worksite. “Many of these properties are
targeted at senior consumers - this is an
opportunity for retirees committed to social
and economic justice to demand a higher
standard,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer
of the Alliance.
Alliance Loses Two
Great Friends: Rep. Tom Lantos, Marge
Gullett
Rep. Tom Lantos
(D-CA), 80, a guardian of human rights around
the world since his election to Congress in
1980, died of esophageal cancer on
Monday. The Chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee and founder of the
Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Rep. Lantos
was the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve
in Congress. “Tom Lantos had a 100%
lifetime voting record with the Alliance; he
was a fierce advocate for the rights of
seniors, and he always stood strong for what he
believed in,” said George J. Kourpias, President of
the Alliance. We are also sad to report
that Marjorie
(Marge) Gullett, wife of Illinois
Alliance president Hal Gullett, died on February 7
after a struggle with cancer. She was
77. “She was a beautiful person and
loving wife and mother. Our thoughts and
prayers go out to the Gullett family,”
continued Mr. Kourpias.
Regional Conferences
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 http:///, or
visit our website at http:///. 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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