FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2011
CONTACT
Media Relations
202-434-2560
AARP to Supercommittee:
Protect Health and Retirement Security for All Americans
WASHINGTON—AARP CEO A. Barry Rand offered the following statement after the House and Senate nominated members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction:
“AARP looks forward to working with the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to ensure that the health and retirement security of current and future generations is protected. We recognize the extremely difficult task and decisions that this committee must undertake, and it is our sincere hope that it will work in a bipartisan manner that respects the needs of all Americans who are coping with the challenges created by these very trying times.
“Seniors have worked their entire lives to achieve a level of health and economic security in retirement. With the compounded effect of loss of retirement savings—particularly through the recent market fluctuations over the last two weeks—and home equity, high unemployment and rising health care costs, cuts to the benefits seniors have earned could undermine the standard of living today and for future middle class generations.
“Americans want Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid to be strengthened as part of a broader conversation around health and economic security, not one focused solely on deficit reduction. AARP believes that the American public deserves a seat at the table in any forum, including the newly created super committee, and we ask that members of the new committee actively solicit input from people across the country, particularly older Americans.
“We look forward to working with our elected leaders to strengthen health and retirement security, not weaken it, for current and future generations.”
For more information, please contact AARP Media Relations at (202) 434-2560 or visit www.aarp.org/protectseniors.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 35.1 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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