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REMARKS BY: 	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE: 	Kick-Off Of The International Year Of Older Persons, Washington, D.C.
DATE:		OCTOBER 19,  1998

In the United States, autumn is a crucial time of year for farmers. It's also an important time for our government, when Congress passes our budget. And it's an important time for one of this country's greatest past-times: baseball. In the coming weeks, millions of eyes in this country will be fixated on our baseball final championship -- the World Series -- the New York Yankees versus the San Diego Padres. In honor of this major event -- and in honor of today's kickoff -- I'd like to recognize one of our greatest players and wisest elders -- the New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra.

Most people in this country recognize Yogi Berra for his unintentionally witty philosophy -- sayings like, "90 percent of the game is half mental." But if you think about it, some of his best lines offer important lessons when it comes to standing up for older people. So as we launch the International Year of the Older Person, let me offer "Five Lessons from Yogi Berra."

Yogi once described how left field in Yankee Stadium is tough to play during the World Series, because the late autumn sun casts deep shadows across the field. As Yogi explained, "It gets late early out there." That's Yogi Lesson Number One: Our later years come earlier than we expect. Before you know it, you're a senior citizen. Your back goes out more than you do. You look forward to a dull evening. And your children start looking middle-aged. But if there's comfort in numbers, then there's never been a better time to be older than today. As the fastest-growing population, you'll see the whole world coming your way. In the United States alone, by the year 2000, older people will outnumber children for the first time in our history.

The aging population sets up a classic good-news, bad-news situation. The good news is, the millennium promises to be a golden age for older people. We've completely changed what it means to "act your age." In two weeks, Senator John Glenn will blast off from Cape Canaveral and go into orbit -- his second time in space -- at age 77. A local Senior Olympics competition has drawn 1,900 entrants this year -- a record -- and more than 100 of them are over 80. And my own mother in her 80s only recently stopped playing competitive tennis, but she still exercises almost every day. Almost every day we're seeing breakthroughs in health care -- treatments, therapies, surgeries and cures -- and new ways to live longer, starting younger.

But the bad news is, many of our public institutions, policies, programs and our very assumptions may not be ready for a larger population of aging people. Our retirement systems will carry a greater burden. Health care costs will soar. Family caregivers will need more support. Our national infrastructures -- from highways to sidewalks -- may have to adjust, perhaps dramatically.

What needs to adjust most of all is our thinking. That's why the federal committee for the International Year of Older Persons has a tough job ahead. And that's why I pledge my Department's fullest support.

But in the United States and around the world, there are steps our nations must take right now. That leads to Yogi Lesson Number Two: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Right now, many nations are at a fork in the road when it comes to their social promise to older people. In the United States, we came to that fork in 1993. One fork was called the "Status Quo." On that road, our greatest social compacts with older people -- Social Security and Medicare -- were going bankrupt. And the chance to harness this golden age of scientific breakthrough was lying fallow, like a farmer's rich but untended field. The other fork -- the fork we took -- was called "The Future." On that road, this Administration made significant investments to modernize Social Security and Medicare, and put them on solid financial footing for the wave of retirees coming along. And on this road to the future, we have just made the greatest investment in medical research in the history of our National Institutes of Health.

By choosing this road, we've guaranteed Yogi Lesson Number Three: "The future ain't what it used to be." But our promise to older people doesn't end there.

Yogi Berra's fond description of his baseball team one year leads to Yogi Lesson Number Four. He said, "We were the overwhelming underdogs." Well, we can never treat our vulnerable citizens as underdogs. Their dignity is sacred. Their safety is paramount. Our duty is clear. We must be diligent in making sure nobody takes advantage of older people. Especially those who count on the trust and care of others. Older people deserve nursing homes that are safe, care that is of high quality, and treatment that is dignified and compassionate. And older people deserve to be treated well and never abused in their own homes. Abuse against older people is a crime against humanity. And we cannot stand for it. Congress needs to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which gives us the tools to protect older Americans.

But how do we prepare the world for an aging population? How do we make sure our institutions and assumptions keep up with older people? How can we make sure we all enjoy the gift of longevity? And create societies for all ages? That leads to my fifth and final lesson from Yogi Berra. He once said, "You can observe a lot by watching." Well, when it comes to making the millennium a golden age for older people, we can also observe a lot by listening. Listening to the experts. Policy experts -- yes. Academics -- yes. Health care providers, senior advocates and others -- whether public, private or NGO -- from nations all over the world. But the most important voice for seniors is the voice of seniors.

Most older people I know are glad to give me a piece of their mind. And I'm wise enough to know I can't live without their wisdom. Nobody can. The best measure of success for the International Year of Older Persons is that we listen to older people, hear their advice -- and take it. Thank you very much.