Fw: March Legislative Patrol Update

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March Legislative Patrol Update

March Legislative Patrol Update

Hello Millard,Please find below the March edition of the Legislative Patrol Update.AARP Launches New Accountability Website, Government WatchGovernment Watch is a one-stop, online portal that helps AARP's 40 million members hold their elected officials accountable for the way they vote on the issues of greatest importance to Americans age 50+. Government Watch went "live" at AARP.org after the final vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The new public site is a response to AARP members' requests for more transparency in government---their desire to know how their senators and representatives are voting on key issues and what the Obama Administration is doing to advance critical priorities. Check out the new website at: http://www.aarp.org/makeadifference/advocacy/GovernmentWatch.html/ President's Commitment to Health Reform in 2009 On Thursday, February 26th, President Obama released his budget proposal and AARP announced the next phase of its campaign to reform America's health care system. "The president's budget plan includes an important down-payment on health care reform," said Phil s, KY State Director. "As the president said, he will need bipartisan action from Congress this year to get the whole job done. It's time for Congress to put its own solutions forward." AARP Kentucky volunteers visited with 6 of our 8 members of Congress or their staff to urge quick, bipartisan action on health reform. AARP also announced key priorities to be included in health reform legislation in 2009, including:

Making affordable health care coverage options available to everyone, especially people ages 50-64 who are among the fastest growing group of uninsured; Keeping Medicare affordable by rewarding doctors and hospitals for quality rather than the quantity of care; Promoting prevention and healthy behaviors; Eliminating fraud, waste and abuse; and Improving care coordination for people with chronic conditions and helping them stay in their homes and out of institutions.

2009 Kentucky General Assembly Payday Lending House Bill 444 passed the House without any of the amendments to make the bill stronger for consumers. While disappointing, there is still time to make improvements to the bill in the Senate. We need your phone calls to Senators to make that happen! Marketed as short-term relief in a cash crunch, payday loans in KY carry annual interest rates of 400% and regularly catch working people -- or those with a steady source of income such as Social Security or a disability check -- in a long-term debt trap. Let's break the cycle of debt; call your senators and tell them to please improve HB 444 by supporting amendments to cap the interest rate that lenders can charge and/or limit the number of loans a user can take to 4 per year. Make a quick call and leave a message for your state Senator today. The call is free on the Legislative Message Line: 1-800-372-7181 • TTY Messages 1-800-896-0305 • En Español 1-866-840-6574. Friendly operators are on duty: Monday - Thursday from 8:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. and Fridays - 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (EST) Governor Beshear and legislative leadership sign budget legislation On Friday, February 13, Gov. Steve Beshear signed a budget package that he said protects funding for basic education, health care and public safety. The package includes some $150 million in additional spending cuts combined with a 30 cent increase in the cigarette tax and applies the state's 6 percent sales tax to store sales of beer, wine and liquor. The state aging services budget was cut in July and again in December and despite the increases in cigarette tax and alcohol they are being told to prepare for another 4% cut. This has already resulted in elimination of the little bit of help the state was giving grandparents who are raising grandchildren and further cuts would reduce home delivered meals and other in-home care at a time when the waiting lists for those programs is growing rapidly. Go to Kentucky's General Assembly website to read the latest news on the 2009 General Assembly at: www.lrc.ky.gov. Read the latest AARP KY news at our website, go to www.aarp.org/ky Have a great day, AARP Kentucky

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