THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 6, 1994 TAG: 9409060064
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
When the American Association of Retired Persons urged members to call their congressional leaders to promote health care reform bills, Sen. John Warner's office phone started ringing.
``The calls were extremely heavy,'' Warner spokeswoman Tracy Smith said. ``We reached at the pinnacle 1,000 calls a day, which is about as many as can come through.''
But the overwhelming majority of the callers, she said, opposed the bills being sponsored by Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and Rep. Richard Gephardt.
The AARP is one of the most vocal membership groups among Warner's constituents, Smith said, and the Republican senator is interested in what voters in the 50-plus age group have to say about health care reform.
With 33 million members nationwide - 700,000 in Virginia alone - the AARP's influence goes beyond Warner's office.
``They're very important because they are politically active, most of them vote, and these people are involved out of their personal interest,'' said Ford Drummond, legislative assistant for health care to Rep. L.F. Payne, D-5th.
But AARP members do not always march in time with their national organization.
``With such a large group, we do have a wide diversity of opinion,'' said Christine Kirby, spokeswoman for the national AARP.
The AARP polls its members regularly, and Kirby said the results consistently show that a majority support the organization's basic goals, including universal health insurance.
Kirby said she is not surprised at the vote count coming from Warner's office. In fact, she said AARP's national headquarters has been on the receiving end of calls from members saying they oppose the Mitchell and Gephardt plans.
KEYWORDS: HEALTH CARE AARP by CNB