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Friday Alert January 18, 2008
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
February 5th Shaping Up To Be
Historic Day in Race for U.S.
President
Democrats will hold contests in 22
states and one territory on February 5, known as Super Tuesday,
while Republicans have scheduled contests in 21 states for that
day. According to The Washington Post, 52% of all
pledged Democratic delegates will be awarded on Super Tuesday,
compared with the 4% that will have been allocated in the four
opening competitions of the year. The Republican delegates
elected that day will make up 41% of the total available.
Contests in Nevada and South Carolina, along with
Florida’s primary on January 29, are seen as critical for
building momentum before Super Tuesday. In California, the
biggest prize on February 5, state election officials estimate
that more than half of voters may vote by mail. About 42%
of Democrats and 47% of Republicans in Florida have requested
absentee ballots. Nationwide, 31 states allow some form of
early voting with “no excuse required.” New
York, whose primary is also February 5, requires voters to state
a reason when they apply for an absentee ballot, leading
political professionals to speculate that such voting by mail
will not be as large a factor there as in other states. In
Arizona, another Super Tuesday state, balloting has already
begun. “Please be sure that you are registered,
educated and know the voting rules for your state,” said
George J. Kourpias, President of the
Alliance. “If you have questions about
identification requirements or voting by mail, it is better to
ask your local elections office sooner rather than
later.” Information is always available at
1-866-OUR-VOTE, the National Campaign for Fair Elections
hotline.
Legislative Outlook for 2008
is Emerging
According to Roll Call,
Congressional Democrats are eyeing a tactical shift in strategy
in their second year of control that involves setting more
realistic legislative expectations for what they can achieve in
2008. Lawmakers are planning to address Medicare,
including stopping a 10.6% cut to Medicare physician fees
scheduled to take effect on June 30; Medicaid; and SCHIP, the
State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Other
Medicare changes may include measures supported by the Bush
administration, such as health information technology
requirements and proposals on mental health parity and genetic
nondiscrimination. Democrats want to reduce payments to
Medicare Advantage (MA) private insurance plans, which receive
generous subsidies, and might also push for new restrictions on
how the plans are marketed to seniors. Senate Finance
Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) plans to
hold hearings and conduct a markup in early spring relating to
MA. In addition, lawmakers are likely to respond to the
administration's latest attempts to stop states from expanding
Medicaid eligibility. Democrats hope to enact broader
health reforms if they win the presidential election. Most
immediately, on January 23, the U.S. House will attempt to
override the President’s SCHIP veto. Americans
United for Change, a coalition that includes the Alliance, is
promoting calls to Congress in advance of that vote. The
toll-free phone number for the campaign is 1-866-544-7573, with
further details available at http://www.cancampaign.org/SCHIP.
Social Security Disability
Backlog Can Mean Waits of More Than Three
Years
A two-month CBS News
investigation found hundreds of thousands of people waiting to
receive Social Security disability payments, as two-thirds of
all applications for federal disability benefits are
rejected. The resulting backlog of 750,000 cases, which
has increased 150% since 2000, means claimants are waiting an
average 520 days for an appeals hearing. In some cities,
large backlogs can mean waits of more than three years.
Two out of three people who had applications rejected last year,
almost one million individuals, gave up rather than filing an
appeal after the first denial. Over the last two years, at
least 16,000 people died before a decision could be reached on
their appeal. The department’s critics blame budget
cuts and frequent staff turnover for creating a system that is
unable to handle an increasing number of disabled Americans and
puts pressure on employees to keep costs low.
“People are literally dying fighting for a benefit they
worked for and deserve,” said Ruben
Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
Hawaii Alliance for Retired
Americans Holds Its Convention
The Hawaii
Alliance held its second Biennial Convention last Saturday in
Honolulu. Randy Perreira, President of
the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and Rep. Neil
Abercrombie (D-HI) addressed the 120 delegates and
guests in attendance. In addition, Alliance Executive Vice
President Judy Cato spoke about senior issues
affecting the 2008 elections and the importance of reaching out
to community-based groups. Officers for the Hawaii
Alliance - elected previously - are: Al
Hamai, President; Justin Wong, Vice
President; Jackie Foil, Secretary; and
Paul Matsuo, Treasurer. Bruce
McCullough is the Legislative Chair.
Health Care for America
Survey
This week, the AFL-CIO and Working
America launched the 2008 Health Care for America Survey.
The survey will enable tens of thousands of Americans to make
their voices heard on an issue that touches every one of us, as
health care costs outpace wages, push working families into
debt, and leave millions uninsured. Speak up and give your
opinion! The survey is available at http://www.aflcio.org/issues/healthcare/survey/?source=nationals.
Register Now for the National
Alliance’s First Regional Conference of
2008
The national Alliance will hold its
Western Regional Conference March 24-26 in Las Vegas, NV.
Locations and dates for later conferences are: Northeastern
Regional Conference, April 17-18 in Philadelphia, PA; Midwestern
Regional Conference, April 28-29 in St. Louis, MO; and Southern
Regional Conference, June 4-5 in Orlando, FL. The regional
conferences are a forum to work with other activists in the area
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.
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!
Join the Alliance
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Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th
St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org
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