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TODAY ONLY!
REMINDER:
Secretary Solis, U.S. Department of Labor will hold a call this afternoon at 2 p.m. This call will focus on women and is being held as a follow-up to President Obama's State of the Union Address last week.
If you can join:
WHEN: January 20, 2 p.m.
PHONE: 800-779-3576
PASSCODE: SOTU
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Unemployed or underemployed?
Have a story to tell?We are now collecting stories for the 2012 Mother's Day Report. This year, our campaign will highlight innovative solutions to employment obstacles women face as they age. We need your stories! Tell us how the recession and decline in jobs have affected you, your family and your loved ones. Submit stories to OlderWomensLeague@owl-national.org _________________________
OWL Releases Menopause Survey Findings
Recently, we conducted a survey on women's knowledge about menopause and the amount and type of information available to them about this major life stage. Our survey identified a glaring information gap about this important health topic with many women, particularly younger women, lacking even basic information.
Click here to read the full letter. _________________________ Exercise to Ward Off Alzheimer's Disease "Alzheimer's disease, with its inexorable loss of memory and self, understandably alarms most of us. This is especially so since, at the moment, there are no cures for the condition and few promising drug treatments. But a cautiously encouraging new study from The Archives of Neurology suggests that for some people, a daily walk or jog could alter the risk of developing Alzheimer's or change the course of the disease if it begins." Click here for the full article. _________________________ Know Before You Owe Millions of times every year, financial institutions issue a new credit card agreement to their customers. And every year, millions of consumers receive new agreements and do not read them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has an idea that may make things better: a simplified credit card agreement. Giving consumers a short, understandable document with the key terms they need to know while giving issuers the option to use CFPB definitions, freely available on their website may be the solution for both credit card holders and issuers. Click here for more information. |
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 Volume III
Issue 1 January 2012 |
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Voice Your Opinion on Fair Wages for Home Care Workers during the
Public Comment Period
 U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Solis is waiting to hear from you about the Obama Administration's proposed regulations to revise the "companionship exemption."
Please take the opportunity to voice your opinion.
Our nation's over 2 million home care workers are professionals. They provide essential long-term services and supports that help elders and people living with disabilities to live independently in their homes. These hardworking, frontline workers are not casual "babysitters" as they have been considered under the Fair Labor Standards Act for more than 35 years.
Help by voicing your opinion during the comment period that ends on February 27. Half of these workers earn wages below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and rely on public assistance to make ends meet.
For more information on the companionship exemption, talking points, and easy instructions on how to comment, visit the PHI Campaign for Fair Pay website.
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Senator Bernie Sanders introduces a Bill to Reauthorize the Older Americans Act
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a bill to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which supports Meals on Wheels and other essential programs for seniors.
"We are at a critical moment. We must give seniors the support they need to stay healthy in their homes and communities," said Sanders, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.
Originally enacted in 1965, the landmark law was the first initiative by the federal government to provide comprehensive assistance to seniors enabling them to remain independent in their homes and communities.
One in five older Americans today survives on an average income of only $7,500 a year, so the need is greater than ever for Older Americans Act services such as meals, home-care, help coordinating long-term care, job training, and legal services.
Sanders stressed that programs for seniors actually save taxpayer dollars by reducing health care expenses. Under one of the major initiatives in the reauthorization measure, the Bureau of Labor Statistics would be instructed to improve how it calculates inflation for the elderly to more accurately reflect out-of-pocket expenses for health care and prescription drugs. The bill would also clarify the legal definition of "economic security" to encompass the income necessary to pay for housing, health care, transportation, food, long-term care, and other basic needs.
For more information, click here.
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Social Security Update
The Social Security Administration has an expanded suite of online services offered in Spanish. On February 23, Social Security is offering a free webinar in Spanish to explain these services and how to best use them.
For more information click here.
TOMORROW:
Why Communities of Color Care About Social Security Reform: A Webinar
Social Security reform is not solely a critical issue for seniors, the disabled, and the dependent survivors of workers who die young - each community of color has a distinct stake in its outcome. Please join us for a dynamic, interactive dialogue discussing:
- How Social Security reform uniquely affects African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans;
- How Social Security reform uniquely affects men, women, and children of color;
- The current political climate, including why conservatives perpetuate the myth that Social Security is bankrupt; and,
- Recommendations for strengthening Social Security in a targeted, equitable way.
Panelists are members of The Commission to Modernize Social Security and include:
Maya Rockeymoore (Moderator)
President and CEO
Global Policy Solutions
Dave Baldridge
Executive Director
International Association for Indigenous Aging
Wilhelmina Leigh
Senior Research Associate
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Meizhu Lui
Director Emeritus
Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative
Leticia Miranda
Associate Director
Economic Policy Project, National Council of La Raza
WHAT: Social Security Reform Webinar
WHEN: Tuesday, January 31, 1 p.m. EST
HOW: Click here to register.
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Go Red for Women
2nd Annual National Webinar on Women's Heart Health
The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease and the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women will jointly sponsor the second annual national webinar on women's heart health.
Join to hear from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, experts in women's cardiovascular health, and women heart disease survivor(s). Get updated on the latest initiatives, science, and developments as we continue to advance programs and opportunities to save women's lives from their leading health threat - heart disease.
WHEN: Wednesday, February 1, 5:30 p.m.
HOW: Click here for more information.
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"Toughness doesn't have to come in a pinstripe suit."
- Senator Dianne Feinstein
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OWL-THE VOICE OF MIDLIFE AND OLDER WOMEN
OWL is a 501(c)(3) national grassroots organization founded in 1980 that continues to be the only national membership organization that advocates solely from the perspective of now over 74 million mid-life and older women.
www.owl-national.org
1625 K St, NW, Suite 1275
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: 1-877-OLDRWMN (653-7966) | 202-567-2606
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