Welcome to the White House. It is a pleasure to be here with you today for this very special event — the signing into law of the Long-Term Care Security Act.
I'd like to acknowledge all the Members of the House and Senate who are with us, and thank them for their extraordinary efforts in passing the Long-Term Care Security Act. In particular, I want to thank the members of the local Congressional Delegation, and the members of the Civil Service Subcommittee for helping to shepherd this legislation through the process.
And I'd also like to thank National Association of Retired Federal Employees President Frank Atwater, National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley, and Retired Officers Association President Lt. Colonel Michael Nelson, for your leadership on the long-term care issue.
In addition, I want to publicly thank two people from OPM for their hard work — Ed Flynn, the Associate Director for Retirement and Insurance Service; and Cynthia Brock-Smith, Director of OPM's Office of Congressional Relations.
As the Director of the Federal Government's human resources agency — representing some 10 million Federal employees, retirees, and their families — I hear from many members of the Federal workforce who are struggling with the challenges of caring for loved ones who require assistance with the everyday activities of life that we take for granted.
Families today provide 80 percent of the long-term care needed by older persons and can reasonably expect to spend more time caring for an older relative than raising their own children. They need our help.
This is an issue very near and dear to my own heart. I think about MY parents — who are here in the audience today — and how we, as a family, are going to deal with the spiraling increases in long-term care costs, if they need it.
And how families across the country are handling the heart-wrenching choices they are sometimes forced to make on a daily basis to provide for the care and comfort of their loved ones in their later years.
Since President Clinton and Vice President Gore took office in 1993, they have recognized an obligation to address this issue decisively and comprehensively.
As sons and daughters, and as a nation, we must do all we can to keep our parents from being crushed by debt because of their need for care.
We, as a nation, must ensure they get the right care for their needs, and that it is quality care. And we must make sure they get ALL the long-term care they need. This is not just a Federal employee issue. Millions of Americans today face a crisis in meeting long-term care needs for themselves, for their children, and for their parents.
So, two years ago in January, I stood on this stage with President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton when they unveiled a comprehensive program to deal with these needs. Today, I want to thank them for their leadership and their unwavering efforts to keep this critical issue in the forefront of this nation's agenda.
The program they crafted included a long-term care tax credit designed to provide immediate support and assistance for the millions of Americans who need help today. The President also outlined a series of steps to address the broad-based and varied long-term care needs of all Americans. He offered proposals to educate the elderly and people with disabilities about long-term care options, and to promote promising new strategies for long-term care for the 21st century.
We are here today to fulfill one of those commitments. The Federal government will now be able to design a long-term care insurance package that offers a full range of services to meet the needs of civilian and military Federal employees, retirees, and their families.
This is an important, and historic, starting point. By making private long-term care insurance available to all the members of the Federal family at negotiated group rates, we will, once again, serve as a model to other employers across the nation, while also heightening our nation's awareness of the growing need to address the issue of long-term care for the future of all Americans.
These are real needs. And whether or not you are a member of the Federal workforce, all of us will have to face these issues. That is why the President's long-term care tax credit deserves early attention and quick action.
This tax credit offers immediate relief to thousands of Americans and it provides a solid framework for the additional long-term care proposals championed by the President.
The need for Congressional action on this issue today is evident most clearly in the touching stories we hear from Americans who've had to confront this issue in their own lives. One such person is Joan Madearas, of Rockville, Maryland. Joan is someone who understands all too well the critical need for a long-term care solution for all Americans.
Joan is a 43-year-old mother of three. She and her husband, Jim, care for her 78-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer's Disease.
Her mother has lived with them for five years, and the family has covered all the costs associated with her care not covered by her small income from Social Security.
The Madearas' have adjusted their work schedules to ensure that someone is always home to care for Joan's mother — with Joan working in the morning at the local church and Jim working the swing shift for Metro.
They also have a 10-year-old son who has both physical and developmental disabilities, so the family devotes a great deal of time and money to meeting his needs as well. In short, they really have their hands full and could certainly use our assistance sooner rather than later.
The good news is that the Madearas' would be fully eligible for the Administration's proposed long term care tax credit. It would go a long way toward helping them meet the competing demands of family and work during this very difficult time.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you someone who has impressed and inspired me with her perseverance and commitment to family, Joan Madearas.