[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        50TH ANNIVERSARY OF AARP

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I rise today to call the attention of the 
Senate to the 50th Anniversary of a remarkable organization that boasts 
35 million members, for whom it provides services ranging from 
discounted prescription drugs, to travel services, to financial 
services. Most of us on Capitol Hill are far more familiar with this 
organization as the tireless advocate for the interests of Americans 
over the age of 50. The organization, of course, is AARP.
  In its half-century of service, the organization that we know today 
as AARP has been transformed from its modest beginnings in 1958 when 
Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired high school principal, transformed 
the National Retired Teachers' Organization into the American 
Association for Retired Persons. The organization was known under this 
name until 1999 when it became just AARP to reflect the fact that many 
of its members are still active in the labor force.
  Characteristic of the work of AARP over the past 50 years has been 
its efforts to influence national policy on behalf of the well being of 
Americans over the age of 50 and to defend the programs that protect 
them, especially Social Security and Medicare. More recently, AARP has 
spearheaded the effort to get bipartisan action in Congress to provide 
all Americans with health care and long-term financial security with 
its Divided We Fail campaign. I commend AARP for its outstanding 
leadership on these issues, which are so critical to millions of 
Americans.
  When President Bush in 2005, fresh from his election victory, made 
the privatization of Social Security his top domestic priority, he met 
his match in AARP, which mobilized its members to oppose this very 
risky plan. Congressional Democrats worked very closely with AARP in 
that effort, and in the end we were successful, at least temporarily. 
Unfortunately, given the continuing support for privatization among 
many in Washington, that battle will have to continue in the years 
ahead, and I look forward to working closely with AARP to continue to 
make the case against privatization, and to make sure that America 
keeps its promise to our seniors.
  So I offer a cordial birthday greeting to an organization that is 50 
years old and stronger than ever. AARP has kept pace with the needs of 
mature Americans and, more importantly, it has kept faith with them. In 
the process, it has made this country a better place for all Americans.

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