Seniors Commission Co-Chair Meets with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson

Washington, DC (November 26, 2001) - Nancy Hooks, Co-Chair of the Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for Seniors in the 21st Century ("the Seniors Commission"), met with Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to discuss senior health and housing issues and provide an update on the work of the Seniors Commission. Hooks, of Albany, NY, was appointed by Congress to lead the Seniors Commission as it conducts a nationwide series of field hearings and public forums focusing on the well being of older Americans today and into the future.

"Senior citizens are facing very difficult choices when it comes to meeting their housing and health care costs," said Ms. Hooks. I know that Secretary Thompson shares my concerns, and I am pleased that he wants to work with the Seniors Commission on identifying ways to make government work better for our senior citizens."

Ms. Hooks added, "America is facing an enormous challenge as we enter the 21st Century and brace for the first waves of Baby Boomer retirees. It is more important than ever before to design and implement a more effective, coordinated and efficient housing and health strategy focusing on the needs of seniors. To do so, the Seniors Commission is taking a hard look at the effectiveness of existing public and private sector programs, and the well being of seniors today in my hometown of Albany and in other communities across America."

"Our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors are having their incomes and life savings stretched to the limit by rising housing, health care and child-rearing costs," said Gerard Holder, the Seniors Commission's Executive Director. "We need to look closely at programs and initiatives that are working and not working, and make absolutely certain that policies and funding priorities reflect the realities facing seniors now and in the years ahead."

The "Seniors Commission" is a bi-partisan 14-member panel created by an act of Congress to study and report back to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on the housing and health needs for the next generation of older Americans. The Commission is empowered to offer specific policy and legislative recommendations for enhancing services and increasing the available housing for this important and growing segment of our society.