AARP Hearing Center
AARP Making a Difference: The ‘Sea of Red’ That Backs AARP on Capitol Hill
Volunteers get a front-row seat to the legislative process — and form new friendships
Capitol Hill Strike Force members (from left): Sherl Streeter, Margie Speir, Steve Brundage, and Inday Williams
Greg Kahn for AARP
Key takeaways
- Capitol Hill Strike Force members attend hearings and events in red AARP attire to visibly represent 125 million older adults.
- Strike Force volunteers find purpose and appreciate a close view of Congress in action.
- Members form lasting friendships that extend beyond their advocacy roles.
AARP’s Capitol Hill Strike Force is more like a Capitol Hill family.
This passionate group of Washington, D.C., volunteers jumps into action when called to support AARP experts as they testify or speak on Capitol Hill. They sit in the front row of hearing rooms, provide a backdrop at press conferences and show up at rallies, always in their red AARP shirts as a visible reminder that lawmakers’ decisions affect millions of older adults across the country.
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For many in the group of about 30 members, the volunteer opportunity provides purpose, plus an up-close view on the issues of the day.
Margie Speir
Greg Kahn for AARP
For volunteer Margie Speir, 78, traveling by metro from her home in Falls Church, Virginia, to Capitol Hill gets her out of her “little box.”
“It’s an amazing education to listen to testimonies that are relevant to all of us in front of Congress,” says Speir, a 10-year member of the Capitol Hill Strike Force. “It’s a real eye-opener to get a glimpse of these elected officials doing their job — or not doing their job.”
But this group has become more than a volunteer gig for members. The volunteers have become friends who meet up for lunch, check in when one of their own gets sick and gather to celebrate special occasions. There’s a connection through shared experiences: When four of them met near the Capitol on a sunny June morning for a photo shoot, they joked about advertising for AARP by wearing branded gear while doing yard work and coordinating their AARP garments with red accessories.
“It’s almost like a family reunion when you see each other in the community,” says Sherl Streeter, a 70-year-old Capitol Hill Strike Force volunteer.
Sherl Streeter
Greg Kahn for AARP
A force to be reckoned with
Most experts testifying on Capitol Hill bring a few supporters with them to sit in hearing rooms wearing suits. AARP typically brings a dozen volunteers as a reminder of how legislation on fraud, prescription drugs, health care and more will play out for 125 million adults ages 50 and older.
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“AARP’s advocacy power comes from our volunteers. It is their energy and commitment that make us a force to be reckoned with,” says Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer at AARP. “When members of Congress see the Capitol Hill Strike Force in their red shirts sitting in a hearing room or walking the halls, they know exactly who it is and why they’re there.”
AARP created the Capitol Hill Strike Force in 2005 as a federal version of the volunteer teams that AARP’s state offices organize to show up at state capitols. Most of the current strike force members are retired and live in the Washington, D.C., area. Volunteers don’t need to be policy experts, but a passion for AARP’s advocacy priorities, including Social Security, Medicare, and protecting older adults against fraud, is vital.
Capitol Hill Strike Force volunteers could get two to three days’ notice that their presence is needed at a hearing, press conference or rally. They receive a briefing before heading to the event in their red AARP-branded shirt, cardigan or jacket, depending on the season. (Speir owns at least 10 articles of AARP clothing.)
The group regularly gets front-row seats at hearings, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will sometimes acknowledge AARP’s presence, thank volunteers for attending and comment on the organization’s advocacy work. The Capitol Hill Strike Force was invited to a ceremony at the White House in 2022, after AARP successfully advocated for passage of the prescription drug law that let Medicare negotiate for lower drug prices for the first time in history.
Volunteers say this behind-the-scenes glimpse of the legislative process has given them the confidence to share their knowledge more widely with their social networks and faith communities. It has heightened their empathy for those less fortunate and opened their minds to different political perspectives.
“I feel like I’m back in college again,” Streeter says.
Building relationships on and off the Hill
A bonus to being part of the Capitol Hill Strike Force is forming new bonds.
The crew holds an annual end-of-the-year party and recently gathered to bid farewell to a longtime volunteer couple before they relocated to San Diego. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gigi Hart Bessicks, AARP’s grassroots manager who oversees the Capitol Hill Strike Force, organized a birthday celebration for a former volunteer outside her nursing home as she turned 105.
“The relationship doesn’t end just because your tenure ends,” Hart Bessicks says. She often calls volunteers who are experiencing health challenges and visits them in the hospital.
Steve Brundage
Greg Kahn for AARP
Friendships forged at an older age tend to be less competitive, finds Steve Brundage, 75. “We’re no longer climbing over each other to get to senior positions,” he says. Older adults also bond over shared experiences like navigating retirement or being targeted by scammers.
Participating with the Capitol Hill Strike Force keeps volunteers active, socially and intellectually.
Streeter, of Lanham, Maryland, retired from her job in commercial sales with the U.S. Postal Service in 2009. “I thought I was going to have a lot of leisure, play with my grandchildren, live it up quietly,” she says. “I did for a year and a half and realized I was bored.”
She started volunteering with AARP a few years later. Serving on the Capitol Hill Strike Force “has given me a great deal of confidence to speak up and advocate for issues important to me,” she says. “People ask me questions, and I can answer them.”
For Brundage, witnessing the congressional process is a highlight.
“If you’re interested in public affairs, it’s an incomparable experience,” he says.
He recalls attending an April hearing about financial fraud organized by the House Committee on Financial Services, which featured Jilenne Gunther, AARP’s national director of the BankSafe Initiative, as a witness. He and other Capitol Hill Strike Force volunteers sat in the gallery audience and appeared in a video for social media afterward.
The contrast between expert witnesses and regular people in the audience who are or could be victims of financial fraud struck him. “It’s an interesting one-two punch,” he says. “You’ve got the wonkiness of AARP staff and the community participation of seniors.”
When Speir attends hearings, she picks up on body language that is less visible to viewers on TV.
“You can tell by listening to the questions whether or not they are versed in the subject,” she notes.
Watching lawmakers voice their opinions and witnesses share their stories have made Capitol Hill Strike Force volunteers reevaluate their own worldviews.
Streeter spent her career dealing with corporations and helping them make money. “I had a good career and a great retirement as a result. Now I get to see the impact some of our business dealings had on the regular person,” she says.
Inday Williams
Greg Kahn for AARP
Inday Williams, 78, a retired internal medicine doctor, has also noticed a shift in herself through volunteering. “It’s made me aware of the conditions we’re living under,” she says. “I’m living a good life, but a large percentage of those heading into 55 and older aren’t” when it comes to housing, food and medical care.
Their knowledge about everything from health care to fraud is something Williams and Streeter often share when they speak at churches and other organizations. They try to convey what they’ve learned to others.
“If we remained in our community,” Streeter says, “we would only see things from our perspective.”
If you live in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, email grassroots@aarp.org to get more information about joining the Capitol Hill Strike Force. If you would like to get involved in a similar advocacy role in your state, contact your state or local AARP office.
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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