 Board Meetings
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 Lobby Resources
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Washington State Sites of Interest
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Useful Links
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Downloads
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Save the Date for the Senior Citizens’ Foundation 20th Annual Fall Conference, Friday, October 17, 2008 from 9:00 am – 3:15 pm at the Doubletree Hotel SeaTac
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Confirmed morning keynote speaker is Susan Reinhard, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, AARP, and panelist Asuman Kiyek, University of Washington, on affordable housing issues. Invitations have been extended to Senator Maria Cantwell and Governor Christine Gregoire to participate.
Click here for 2008 Fall Conference registration information. |
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Legislature Sends 2008 Supplemental Budget to Governor Gregoire for Signing
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Glassbooth Website Connects Voters to 2008 Presidential Candidates
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Glassbooth is a non-profit, non-partisan organization providing an excellent website for information on candidates for the 2008 Presidential Election. Clicking on the + and - signs to add points indicating your issue priorities then presents the candidates most in line with your views. Other sections provide detailed candidate and issue information so you can find answers to all of your presidential election questions.
Click here to try the Glassbooth 2008 Election website.
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Voter Registration Website Lets You Check Your Registration Status
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Social Security Cost of Living Increase Announced for 2008 Disappoints Seniors
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 Senior citizens were surprised by the Social Security Administration's announcement last month that the January 2008 SSA cost of living raise will amount to only 2.3%, compared with the 3.3% raise received for 2007. Since 2000 annual Social Security benefit increases have been trending downward, with a total increase of only 22% for the period compared with total increases in typical expenses for seniors at around 71%. Clearly seniors and other SSA and Supplemental Security benefit recipients need to be speaking out to their Congressional representatives about the importance of keeping cost of living increases in line with rising healthcare and other senior expenses. Key members of Congress including John McHugh, R-NY, and Nita Lowey, D-NY, have sponsored House Resolution 2032, the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act, to ensure that increasing expenses for seniors are met with reasonable annual cost of living adjustments.
Click here to contact your senator or representative in Washington, D.C.
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Seniors in Washington State May Be Impacted by Administration's Spending Priorities
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Taxpayers in Washington state will pay $3.5 billion for proposed Iraq War Spending in the pending FY2008 federal budget. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
531,103 People with Health Care OR
3,144,597 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
67,786 Public Safety Officers OR
61,324 Music and Arts Teachers OR
629,229 Scholarships for University Students OR
372 New Elementary Schools OR
19,503 Affordable Housing Units OR
1,350,281 Children with Health Care OR
391,528 Head Start Places for Children OR
61,138 Elementary School Teachers OR
47,913 Port Container Inspectors. Is it time for seniors to speak up about the priorities Washington state has for basic health care coverage for all its citizens including seniors, and to demand reasonable prices for prescription medications above what the current Medicare prescription drug plan provides?
Many states are asking these same questions, including Illinois and Oregon. Is this a topic we need more discussion about?
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Prescription Drug Card Provides Discounts To Underserved Washington Residents
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The Northwest Prescription Drug Consortium, created by the Washington legislature in 2005, began sign-ups on February 1, 2007 for its free membership discount card to provide low income and underinsured residents with lower prescription drug prices. The program, available to state agencies and private employers as well, lowers the cost of prescription drugs through a purchasing pool formed between Oregon and Washington.
To sign up for the free membership discount card, or for more information on the program, click here.
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 2008 Events Ahead
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March 13, 2008 -Washington
State Legislature Adjourned |
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August 18, 2008 - 10:00 am
Senior Lobby Board Meeting - Panorama City in Lacey |
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September 21, 2008 - 10:00 am
Senior Lobby Board Meeting - Panorama City in Lacey |
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 Featured Sites
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