AARP to track Congressional votes for first time

 

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP released the

following letter to Congress today alerting representatives and senators that for the first time the association will be recording House and Senate roll call votes on key issues, and informing nearly 38 million members of the results of these key votes throughout the 110th Congress.

  

According to exit polls, roughly 1 out of every 4 voters in the past

election was a member of AARP. "The American people need and deserve to know where their Representatives and Senators stand on the issues, and AARP will deliver that knowledge on the issues of health care and financial security," AARP CEO William Novelli wrote in the letter.

   

Following is the text of the letter sent by AARP CEO William Novelli to

Congress:

   

On behalf of our nearly 38 million members, I wanted to take this

opportunity to welcome you to the 110th Congress and to update you on some of AARP's activities that will relate to our legislative agenda.

   

AARP members are looking to us more and more to keep them informed about what issues are dominating the policy debates in Washington, and where their elected officials stand on these issues.

   

Our members care deeply about health care, financial security, and the stewardship of the country's finances. They want to know both how AARP is representing their concerns and how Congress is responding to our efforts.

   

They want more information and we are determined to meet this need.

   

We believe that people make the right choices when they understand the issues and the positions taken by candidates and elected officials. During the months before the 2006 election, we conducted a successful voter education campaign with the theme: "Don't vote until you know where the candidates stand on the issues." People need and deserve to know where their Representatives and Senators stand on the issues.

   

Therefore, during the 110th Congress, we will be recording House and

Senate roll call votes on key issues, and informing our members of the

results of these key votes -- and how their elected officials voted --

throughout the session.

   

We will always provide advance notification of the votes that we will

be recording, and fully inform you of AARP's position on the issue. The

first vote we will be recording is the upcoming House vote on Secretarial negotiating authority, and a forthcoming letter will outline our support for H.R. 4, the "Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act."

   

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps

people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are

beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website,

http://www.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.