No Place for Union Strikes in
Senior Living

Posted by Paul Williams
Senior Director of Government Relations, ALFA
On Tuesday, the largest transportation union in Philadelphia went on strike over wage, pension, and health-care issues. As a result, thousands of citizens who rely on Philadelphia’s buses, subways, and trolleys were forced to find alternative transportation, and many were unable to do so. For many of [...]

Needed Now: Silver Alert Support

Posted by: Maribeth Bersani – ALFA Senior VP/Public Policy
Earlier this year Congressman Lloyd Doggett from Texas introduced the Silver Alert bill – it passed the House but not the Senate. The original Senate sponsor, Mel Martinez, recently resigned so we need a new champion in the Senate and we need this person quickly.
Currently, 5 million [...]

Talk of EFCA Compromise Surprises Senate Democrats

By Paul Williams, Senior Director of Government Relations, ALFA
This week at the AFL-CIO conference, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) announced that a compromise for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) had been worked out in the Senate, and predicted the legislation would be passed by the end of the year. This caught several key Senate democrats [...]

Community Living Assistance Services and Supports

An ALFA-backed long-term care insurance initiative included in H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Healthy Choices Act of 2009 – better known as the House health care reform legislation, has recently come under fire from the life insurance industry.
The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) plan, a long standing measure crafted by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), [...]

Long, Hot, Political Summer

The last few weeks have shown us an uptic in political activism at congressional town halls throughout the nation. ALFA encourages members to engage their elected officials, but to do so thoughtfully and with cooler heads than some we’ve seen.

Advocate Now, Provide for the Future

ALFA Update recently covered a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, which says the aging U.S. population could fuel an increased federal deficit. Between now and 2030, the number of adults over the age of 75 will double and the number over 85 will triple. But here’s the challenge: 60 percent of those older adults [...]

ALFA’s 2009 Year of the Advocate Reaches Hundreds on the Hill

The Assisted Living Federation of America held its annual advocacy fly on March 31st and it was an overwhelming success. Sixty advocates from across the country came to Capitol Hill and met with over 100 congressional offices. The in-person fly in was supplemented by a virtual fly in that resulted in nearly one thousand messages sent electronically on key issues.