Friday Alert  3/24/06
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. -  Washington DC, 20006 - (202) 974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or

Senate Votes "No" on Social Security Privatization
The Senate rejected, 46-53, an amendment to the fiscal 2007 budget resolution containing private account language last week.  The amendment, proposed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), would have allowed the Senate Budget Committee to move money out of the Social Security Trust Fund.  However, the Senate Finance Committee would first have to pass legislation to provide younger workers the "voluntary option to obtain legally binding ownership of a portion of their Social Security benefits," as reported in Roll Call.

The Senate voted last year on a few Social Security-related amendments during the budget debate, but this is the first amendment to begin the privatization process.  "We must continue to be vigilant," said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.  "This administration sees how unpopular the private account idea is, but doesn't seem to care.  President Bush hid $712 billion over ten years in his fiscal year '07 budget to continue trying to create private accounts.  The threat of privatization is not dead."

Early-Retirement Packages at GM
This week, General Motors Corp. (GM) offered early-retirement packages and buyouts ranging from $35,000 to $140,000 to its 113,000 unionized workers.  GM has a goal of cutting 30,000 U.S. hourly jobs by 2008, and many analysts expect the buyout offers to bring it close to that goal. GM would see its pension rolls grow as employees accept the offers, while at the same time those employees would lose some of their retiree benefits.  GM, which has 2.5 retirees for every active worker, reached a deal with United Auto Workers last year that would make retirees pay more for their health care.  The company also plans to pay for early-retirement buyouts at Delphi Corp., its former parts division and major supplier. 

Lawsuit Over Spending Cuts
Watchdog group Public Citizen has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the "Deficit Reduction Act" that President Bush signed into law in February.  If successful, the suit would prevent $39 billion in Republican spending cuts, which would adversely affect seniors and the disabled, from taking effect.  A provision in the bill that reduced the amount of time Medicare could pay for "durable medical equipment" rentals other than oxygen tanks is at the center of the controversy.  In making their case, Public Citizen states that the House and Senate passed different versions of the bill, making the cuts illegal.  "At his inauguration, Bush swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States, which requires that both the House and Senate pass a bill in identical form before the President can sign it into law," said George J. Kourpias, President of the Alliance.  "I hope he takes that oath seriously."  House Speaker Dennis Hastert acknowledged this week in the Wall Street Journal that his office had told White House officials the version of the bill that the House passed differed from that of the Senate by $2 billion before the signing.  Hastert said that he expected Bush to do only a "mock ceremony" February 8th, since leaders in Congress and at the White House knew that there were clearly problems with the real paper work. Added Kourpias, "If the Republicans' own consciences did not save us from their immoral budget choices, then maybe the Constitution and the courts will."  Public Citizen said that it expects a full hearing on the matter late this spring.

Retirement Watch in Congress
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), the senior Republican in New York's Congressional delegation, has announced that he will retire at the end of this term after 24 years in office.  Rep. Boehlert is currently Chairman of the House Committee on Science, but House Republican limits would prevent him from heading the Committee again next year.  Also retiring at the end of this term, his 14th in Congress, is Rep. Martin Sabo (D-MN). Sabo is ranking member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.  As of last year, Boehlert had a lifetime voting record score of 13% with the Alliance, while Sabo had a lifetime score of 95%.  Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance, said, "I see Rep. Sabo's seat remaining with the Democrats, while Boehlert's seat is likely to become a top target in this year's upcoming elections."

Alliance Events Around the Country
This Saturday is the Oregon Alliance's third annual convention in Portland.  Also this week, Maine hands out the John Marvin Awards in Augusta on Tuesday; the event coincides with the grand opening of John Marvin Towers, a 32-unit Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation (EHDOC) building.  Meanwhile, the Colorado Alliance will have its Senior Day rally at the State Capitol in Denver on Wednesday, and the Missouri Alliance hosts its bi-annual fundraiser in Bridgeton that same day.

Did You Know?
The Republican Prescription Drug Plan is especially harmful for more than 23 million American women.  More than half of the 42 million seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicare - 56 percent - are women.  [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005]  This percentage rises as the beneficiary population ages, because women typically live longer than men.  Among people with Medicare age 85 years old and older, more than 71 percent are women.  [American Association of University Women, January 2003]