This NARFE Legislative Hotline, number 706, was released Friday, March 5^th. Senate action on a $250 payment for seniors, the webcast of NARFE hearing testimony on FEHBP prescription drug pricing and the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility are covered. The next scheduled Hotline is set for Friday, March 12^th. (676 words; 4:05)

Senate Rejects Amendment to Offer Seniors $250 Payment: On March 3, the Senate sidetracked an amendment by Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-VT, that would have provided a one-time $250 payment to most older Americans who received Social Security, Veterans’, Railroad Retirement, and Supplemental Security Income in 2009. Prior to the vote, NARFE President Margaret L. Baptiste sent a letter to all 100 senators urging them to vote for the Sanders amendment. Baptiste wrote that the payment was needed to help older Americans shoulder growing living expenses in a year without a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). She also thanked Sanders for adding language that would have offered a refundable $250 tax credit in 2010 to over 1 million federal, state and local government retirees who are not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. 

Sanders tried to attach the amendment to H.R. 4213, a bill to extend unemployment compensation, renew several expiring tax breaks, help states with skyrocketing Medicaid costs and prevent doctors from having to absorb cuts in Medicare reimbursements. The 47-50 vote that killed the Sanders amendment was on a procedural motion on whether the Senate would consider as “emergency spending” the $12.7 billion price of the $250 payment. Following the vote, Baptiste said, “Like Sen. Sanders, NARFE will continue to fight for this relief on behalf of all older persons.” For more information on the amendment, use the following link to read our press release: http://www.narfe.org/departments/home/articles.cfm?ID=2037

To see how your two Senators voted on the amendment, click on the following link: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00036

FEHBP Prescription Drug Pricing Hearing: The archived webcast of the February 23^rd hearing of the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia Subcommittee on H.R. 4489, the "Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency and Cost Savings Act" is now available on the Subcommittee’s web site. NARFE’s Legislative Director, Dan Adcock, testified on behalf of NARFE, and answered questions from the Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-MA. The gateway to the webcast, witness list and written testimony is:

http://www.oversight.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4802&Itemid=27

The NARFE web site has both our press release and NARFE testimony. (The link to the press release is

http://www.narfe.org/departments/guest/print.cfm?ID=2019 and the link for the testimony is http://www.narfe.org/departments/home/articles.cfm?ID=2020.)

Bipartisan Budget Commission: President Obama has named the four Executive Branch members of The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. The Commission, created by a February 18^th Executive Order, will be co-chaired by former Clinton White House Chief of Staff, Erskine Bowles, and former Senate Whip, Alan Simpson (R-WY). The four Executive branch members are: David Cote, Ann Fudge, Alice Rivlin, and Andy Stern. Biographical information is posted on the White House web site. The remaining members of the Commission must be named by Congressional Leaders. On February 23^rd, the Senate Majority Leader named three Senators: Kent Conrad (D-ND), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL). The nine remaining slots on the Commission have not been filled. (The White House web address to use is http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-names-members-bipartisan-national-commission-fiscal-responsibility- )

NARFE will continue to monitor the naming of Commissioners and the work of the Commission, whose report is due December 1^st. NARFE plans to point out to commissioners that federal civil service retirement benefits are fully funded and actuarially sound and should not be swept up in the effort to achieve political as well as deficit reduction goals. (The full text of the Executive Order is available on the White House web site. Use http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-national-commission-fiscal-responsibility-and-reform )

Thank you for using the Hotline. This weekly legislative message is available to telephone callers (703/838-7780 and toll free at 1-877-217-8234), posted on NARFE's Internet site, www.narfe.org, made available to NARFE-Net Coordinators; and sent to over 53,000 GEMS e-mail addresses. Each delivery channel is a service of NARFE, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.

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