CARA Chooses 4 Priority Bills

A publication of the California Alliance for Retired Americans

CARA CHOOSES 4 PRIORITY BILLS

The CARA Legislative Committee has been busy reviewing bills and taking positions in support or opposition. To date, we have taken a position on over 50 bills.  We have chosen 4 of these bills to be our priorities – which means we will write letters to all committee members, attend hearings and participate in other events to promote these bills. We will focus on these bills on our monthly organizing calls, at our CAT meetings and at our May 21st Lobby Day (see below).  Fact sheets and additional information about these bills will be on the CARA website (www.californiaalliance.org).

The 4 priority bills are:

SB 3 (Leno):              Increases incrementally the state minimum wage to $13/hour by 7/1/2017

SB 243 (Beall):         Observation status in acute care hospitals – standards and oversight

AB 244 (Eggman):   Spouse and heir foreclosure protection act

AB 474 (Brown):       Increase SSI/SSP grants to individuals 

MAY 21st: CARA LOBBY DAY

10AM – 2PM/ WEST STEPS OF CAPITOL

Please mark May 21st on your calendar.  This is CARA’s annual lobby day – this year it will be in the State Capitol.  There will be buses and carpools from Northern CA.  May 21st is a CALL IN day to your State Assemblymember and Senator for all CARA members who cannot attend the Lobby Day in person.  There will be buses/carpools leaving from San Francisco, Berkeley, Richmond, San Jose, Stockton, Modesto, Fresno, Roseville and other locations.  Call CARA at 510-663-4086 to sign up for a ride.

NEXT CARA STATEWIDE ORGANIZING CALL – APRIL 6th @ 4pm

The monthly organizing calls that we started in January have been a great success – hundreds of CARA activists around the state have participated.  The April call is scheduled for Monday, April 6th at 4pm. We hope you will join us – the calls will be an hour long (or less) and are free to the caller.

MONTHLY CARA ORGANIZING CALLS – 1st Monday at 4pm

866-516-3949/ Passcode: 3948639#

SAVE THE DATE: CARA’S 12TH ANNUAL STATEWIDE CONVENTION

MONDAY AND TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19TH AND 20TH

DOUBLETREE HILTON, ONTARIO, CA

BUDGET PROPOSALS TO CUT MEDICARE AND MEDICAID AND SOCIAL SECURITY MUST BE STOPPED!

Call Your Congressmember and U.S. Senator Today

On Tuesday, March 17th, Republicans unveiled their proposed budget for 2016 that would privatize Medicare, turn Medicaid into block grants to the states, and repeal the ACA.  The House proposal, which has been voted on several times and passed, leans heavily on the policy prescriptions from Rep. Paul Ryan.  With the Senate now in Republican hands, this year’s proposal is more politically salient than in the past. 

This adds to the already passed rules change that will prohibits moving funds within the Social Security Trust fund so that the SSDI program will be able to pay full benefits – which could result in SSDI beneficiaries getting a benefit cut IF we don’t get Congress to rescind this prohibition.

We must act immediately and demand that our Representatives overturn these proposals, and fully fund the SSDI program and oppose cuts and privatization of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Call today and everyday.  Here’s how/who to call:

Phone: President Obama (202) 456-1414 and your members of Congress to urge that no cuts be made.  Free calls to switchboard: 1-800-826-3688 to reach your House Rep. and Senators Boxer and Feinstein. Please ask others to make phone calls as well.