Norton Seniors Day to Feature On-the-Spot Services, Information and Entertainment - May 22, 2006

Norton Seniors Day to Feature On-the-Spot Services, Information and Entertainment
May 22, 2006

Washington, DC— The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that more than 300 senior citizens are expected to attend her annual Seniors Legislative Day tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23, 2006, from 11 AM to 2 PM at the new Town Hall, Education, Arts and Recreation Campus (THE ARC), 1901 Mississippi Avenue, SE. Norton said, “We are featuring services and a lot more this year. We believe that our seniors will be delighted to visit THE ARC, a unique facility most have not seen.”

The seniors who attend receive free lunch daily through a federal program that is one of the Congresswoman’s annual priorities, the Older Americans Act (OAA) that increasingly has required a fight in the Congress simply to maintain level funding. The President’s budget last year was $24 million below the prior year’s funding, but protests from Norton and other Members brought seniors nutrition programs to level funding. “Level funding represents a significant cut in basic food programs for the elderly at a time when the first baby boomers are qualifying for the program,” Norton said. “In the past, the OAA has been one of the most popular programs with Members of Congress, but even this program has not been able to overcome the tax cut priority here.” Norton expects another fight this year during the appropriations process. Lunch will be served to the seniors at the end of Tuesday’s program.

Norton said that the new Medicare prescription drug program remains on the front burner and this Seniors Legislative Day will give her an opportunity to offer a status report on her efforts to improve the program, even though the deadline for signing up without a penalty has passed, and a report on her efforts to revise the program itself.

Seniors will be treated to entertainment by gospel soloist Robert Person, students of the Washington Ballet, and Rodney Jordan, a fitness and wellness professional who will lead brief exercises tailored for seniors. In addition, Christmas in April will be on hand to accept applications from senior for repairs to their homes, and the George Washington Cancer Institute will provide information about its traveling mammography van. The seniors also will learn about THE ARC and a variety of groups that are housed at the year-old facility, including the Washington Ballet, Boys and Girls Club, Levine School of Music, and the Children’s Hospital Wellness Center.

Congresswoman Norton holds the annual event to give senior citizens an update on legislation and issues important to them, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and to give them an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns. Her Seniors Legislative Day is held with the cooperation of the D.C. Office on Aging and AARP DC.