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Friday Alert 5/20/05
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.org
Social Security Truth Truck Heads West
With 13 states and more than 25 Members of Congress visited
covering 5,000 miles, the Alliance for Retired Americans Truth Truck will stop
in Washington, Oregon, and Nevada during Congress' Memorial Day recess. The
truck will deliver 1.2 million petitions signed by seniors who oppose
privatization to the congressional districts of key lawmakers the Alliance
believes could be key in the fight to save Social Security. Cities and dates
are: Seattle (May 31), Portland and Medford, Ore. (June 1), Reno (June 2), and
Henderson, NV (June 3). For more information:
www.retiredamericans.org/truthtruck.
Demand Your Lawmaker "Take a Stand" on Social Security
The Alliance for Retired Americans, together with Americans United to Protect
Social Security, is launching a four-week "Take a Stand Campaign" during which
it will call on more than 80 targeted Members of Congress to attend town hall
meetings during the Memorial Week Congressional recess (May 27- June 6) and say
publicly whether or not they support President Bush's plan for benefit cuts and
private accounts. For more information:
http://www.americansforsocialsecurity.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=203&Itemid=1
House GOP Super Sizes Its Social Security Overhaul
Strategy
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) continues to bolster
his new approach to get Social Security privatization by adding proposals to
bolster private pension plans and improve non-retiree benefits for widows,
children and the disabled. With nearly weekly hearings on this expanded
approach and the Chairman's statement that the personal accounts "can take a
number of forms," Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) said, "They're trying to get the
goods through Customs that way."
Most Americans Don't Approve of President's Benefit
Cut Plan
With Americans increasingly wary of efforts to change Social Security, a recent
Harris Interactive poll shows that nearly half, 49%, believe that President
Bush's real agenda is to dismantle Social Security while only 36% think that he
actually wants to save the system. According to an Associated Press poll, most
Americans, 56%, are unwilling to accept reduced Social Security benefits in
retirement. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows 54% oppose benefit cuts
and 53% chose raising Social Security taxes over cutting benefits to ensure
Social Security's long term future.
President's Social Security Plan Inventor Criticizes
President's Plan
Robert C. Pozen, whose "progressive indexing" proposal is half of President
Bush's Social Security privatization plan criticized the President's insistence
on carving out individual accounts from the Social Security payroll tax. Pozen,
chairman of MFS Investment Management of Boston proposed reducing the growth of
Social Security benefits for all but the poorest workers. On Wednesday, he
said, "I would advise the President to say that the carve-out accounts are no
longer required," because this proposal threatens passage of a Social security
restructuring that would deal with the program's financial problems.
Pension Advisors Provide Biased Advice
A study by the Securities and Exchange Commission found that many of the
firms that provide advice to operators of pension and 401(k) plans appear to
have undisclosed financial ties to the companies whose services they recommend.
"These findings are disturbing," said Alliance President George Kourpias,
"pension fund managers must have unbiased investment advice in order to
responsibly carry out their own obligations to the millions of workers in
pension plans."
FBI Uses Medicare Monies for Counterterrorism
Over the past four years, money earmarked by Congress for investigating fraud
committed against the Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs appears to
have been shifted improperly to other activities, including fighting terrorism,
according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the agency responsible for the fraud investigations,
receives $114 million annually from an account in the Medicare trust fund to
investigate health care fraud.
White House Conference on Aging Moved to December
The WHCoA policy committee announced this week that the 2005 conference date
will be changed from October to December 11-14 in Washington, D.C. Alliance
members not designated as delegates by their member of Congress or governor, who
wish to be an at-large delegate are urged to apply. There are 4 ways to do so:
on-line At-Large Delegate Application Form; by contacting the WHCoA office at
301-443-9462; by mail at 4350 East West Highway, Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20814;
or by email at
Info@whcoa.gov to receive a copy of the form. Individuals may self nominate
or nominate others to be considered as At-Large Delegates. The deadline for
applications is June 1 with selections to be made by June 30, 2005.
Minimum Wage Bill
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005 (S.1062 and H.R.2429) was introduced in the
Senate and House of Representatives this week by Senator Edward M. Kennedy
(D-MA) and Representative George Miller (D-CA) respectively. The bill calls for
an increase in the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour in three steps: to
$5.85 60 days after enactment, to $6.55 one year later and to $7.25 a year after
that. Seven and a half million workers will directly benefit from a minimum
wage increase. Many seniors are low-wage workers who depend on hourly income.
The last minimum wage increase was in 1996-97 when it was raised from $4.25 to
$5.15 per hour.
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Come to Washington, DC September 7-9 and Lobby Congress at the Alliance
for Retired Americans Legislative Conference - Register at
www.retiredamericans.org/legconf or call Joni Jones at
1-888-373-6497
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!.
Join the Alliance
Alliance for Retired Americans 888 16th St, NW Washington, DC 20008
Click here to sign up for Alliance for Retired Americans.
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