Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505080084
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Delegates at the Fourth White House Conference on Aging ended their work here Friday with a set of 39 recommendations dealing with issues ranging from access to health care to safe communities for the elderly.
But through the debate about drafting aging policy for the 21st century, the delegates constantly were looking over their shoulders.
``Some might say we were too concerned with the past, but they don't understand that the work has only just begun,'' said Fernando Torres-Gil, assistant secretary for the federal Administration on Aging. ``This conference will help stimulate an important national dialogue about the aging of America.''
Torres-Gil said this year's delegates were hampered by budget constraints in federal programs and the need to make improvements to existing programs instead of creating new ones.
There were no votes for new programs, although many resolutions called for preserving, expanding, strengthening and increasing existing programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act. Other delegates noted the irony of asking for expansions and increases, in light of possible cuts.
Most outspoken among those were members of the 15-person youth delegation, specifically members representing under-30 political groups like Lead or Leave.
Gretchen Dee, 19, a college sophomore from Schaumburg, Ill., handed out fliers with the heading ``Get Real: Medicare is Welfare.'' She criticized what she said was a lack of respect for young people's opinions, even though the conference called for cooperation between age groups.
``We don't want to be characterized as granny bashers, but this conference reflects a widespread reluctance to face the facts and make tough choices now so that older Americans can be protected from poverty,'' Dee said. ``And of course, our feelings about this issue need to be heard, because we want these programs to be there for us.''
Still, the conference had a celebratory tone for many, who believed Social Security and Medicare were well-earned rewards for seniors who helped shape the course of the 20th century.
Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said the conference resolutions prove that the U.S. public supports Clinton administration efforts to protect Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.
by CNB