SENIORS COMMISSION ANNOUNCES SYRACUSE FIELD HEARING

Washington, D.C. - The Congressional Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for Seniors in the 21st Century (Seniors Commission) will be conducting its first field hearing on July 30, 2001 in Syracuse, New York. The Syracuse Housing Authority is hosting the Commission field hearing at their facility at the Toomey-Abbott Tower, 1207 Almond Street, Syracuse, New York. The session is scheduled to begin at approximately 9:30 a.m. and last throughout the day. Congressman James Walsh of the Syracuse area has agreed to be a featured speaker during the Commission's opening session.

The Syracuse hearing is one of eight planned field hearings and will be managed by the Commission's Housing and Health Strategies Task Force chaired by Commissioner James Introne, President of Loretto, Syracuse, New York. Other Task Force members include Jane O'Dell Baumgarten of AARP, Rita Poundstone of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, and Steve Protulis of the Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation. The task force is one of three created by the commission to address its congressional directive. The hearing will focus on two main themes derived from the commission's seven-point mandate:

Ways to Improve Availability, Appropriateness, and Access to Housing with Services (10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

Ways to Improve and Increase Public-Private Partnerships (12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.)

Two five-member panels with witnesses selected from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will address each theme. The two panel sessions will be followed by a 2:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. session for public comment and remarks from other interested parties. During the public session, individuals will be permitted to give three-minute oral presentations to the commissioners as well as submit written testimony and proposals.

For more information regarding the Syracuse hearing or the Seniors Commission, please contact Ken Trepeta at (202) 708-4287.

###

Seniors Commission, 470 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Suite 7110, Washington, D.C. 20024 (202) 708-4287, Fax (202) 708-4165 an independent federal agency