|
Friday Alert January 25, 2008
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
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.
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!
Join the Alliance
____________________________________________________________________
Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th
St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org
|
