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S P E C I A L
Invitation to Visit Revamped
NRLN Website
The
National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) is beginning 2012
with an invitation to you to visit our revamped NRLN Website.
Click here to access the home page. Or, type
www.nrln.org
into your Internet browser.
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Thanks to many hours of
work by the NRLN Webmaster, our website has been given an
improved appearance and content update: |
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There is a new header with the NRLN Logo. |
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A Google search engine has been added for searching the
website by key words. |
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Headline links to articles of interest to retirees are now
"In the news…" section of the home page rather than on three
separate webpages. |
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The navigation tabs under the header have been updated. |
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Additional links have been added to the "Useful Links"
webpage to provide easy access to a number of federal
agencies and non-profit organizations that provide services
to retirees. |
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We hope you will agree that the home page has a cleaner look
with the color that has been added. |
I
encourage you to go to our website and take a few minutes to
access a number of the webpages. If you have feedback for us
about the NRLN website, send an email to
nrlnmessage@msn.com or go to
www.nrln.org/Feedback.htm .
The
NRLN website is vital to communicating with our members,
providing information to retirees who are potential members and
sharing information with members of Congress, their staffs and
others in the federal government. We are often told during our
meetings on Capitol Hill that our website has been a source of
information on our mission, our retiree association members and
our legislative agenda.
If
you have not yet accessed the website to read the NRLN's full
2012 Legislative Agenda or at least the top initiatives for
"Lobby Focus" this year, I urge you to do so. These documents
are under the "Legislative Action" tab.
A
brief summary of our top initiatives in 2012 include:
PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF RETIREE INCOME:
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Gain
legislation that stops corporations from using pension plan
assets for non-pension expenses. |
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Reform
Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation rules to ensure
equitable calculations of benefit payments to retirees when
the PBGC has to take over a pension plan. |
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Reform
corporate bankruptcy laws to place retirees' pensions and
benefits on a list of obligations that companies can’t shed
in the bankruptcy process. |
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Gain
legislation that protects retirees' pensions when companies
merge, are acquired or divisions are spun off. |
PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF RETIREE HEALTH
CARE:
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Gain
legislation on the NRLN's Maintenance of Cost Protection (MCP)
proposal that would establish a fixed monthly payment to
retirees equivalent to the value of the benefits an employer
provided prior to the reduction or cancellation of
retirement health care, prescription drugs, life insurance,
long-term care or other benefits. |
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Gain
legislation for the reduction of prescription drug costs
through passage of legislation that: |
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Enables re-importation
and importation of safe prescription drugs approved by the
FDA; |
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Enables Medicare to
develop formularies and take competitive bids for
prescription drugs; |
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Staffs and funds the FDA
to reduce generic drug approval backlogs; |
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Prevents drug companies
from colluding to control pricing or subvert free markets. |
PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY:
The
NRLN's position is:
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Social Security is a contributory plan, an earned and
paid-for benefit, not a government welfare program.
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Congress should address any long-term funding gap by
focusing on modest increases in the payroll tax rate and
increasing the cap on maximum wages subject to the tax.
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There is no need to reduce Social Security Cost of Living
Allowances (COLAs), do means-testing or make other cuts in
benefits. |
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Social Security Trust assets should be insulated from access
by Congress and never again be loaned out as a piggybank to
cover other government spending. |
PROTECTION OF MEDICARE:
The
NRLN's position for preserving federal budget dollars for
Medicare is to:
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Eliminate waste, cut back federal budgets for projects,
non-strategic grants and planned budget expenditures and
stop authoring wasteful preferential bills and amendments.
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Attack Medicare fraud and include prison time for defrauding
the Medicare system. |
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Pass legislation for Medicare prescription drugs that would
compel safe importation, competitive bidding, funding to
accelerate generic drug sales and eliminate non-competitive
practices in the prescription drug industry. |
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Set fair and equitable rate formulae for determining
physician fees and make adjustments up or down annually.
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Examine costly referrals and redundant visit practices and
disallow them. |
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Increase the Medicare tax on workers and employers until
such time as payroll taxes can again fund 60-65% of the
Medicare budget. |
With your help by communicating NRLN initiatives with your
elected representatives and financial support through an annual
NRLN Individual Membership, we will work together to gain
legislation that will make a positive difference in the lives of
retirees.
Bill Kadereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network |
