Gov. Gregoire address the Senior Citizens Lobby Fall Conference

October 17, 2008

AS WRITTEN
Good morning, and thank you for the kind introduction.

I�m pleased to be here this morning, and I want to welcome you � from all across Washington � here today to work for the well-being of our vibrant and growing population of senior citizens.

In fact, I now find myself among the ranks of Washington senior citizens -- so I can say for a fact that I�m in good company!

Of course, Bruce Reeves probably gets a kick out of hearing me say that. When Bruce was in his 60s -- I was still having babies!

Bruce turns 90 years old next month, and although he has retired�and despite a recent health challenge�he�s still going strong.

Here�s an early Happy Birthday, Bruce! You did more heavy lifting on behalf of Washington seniors than people half your age.

I always loved having Bruce in my office. He�s such a gentleman � and a great advocate!

I dunno, Bruce � Did you have a hand in shaping President Roosevelt�s New Deal policies. You certainly could have � unless you found him too conservative!

Anyway, congratulations Bruce, and I�m very pleased to hear you are being honored here today by an organization you helped build.

As I�m sure you can guess, things are just a little busy for me right now, but I wasn�t about to miss this conference to say a few words -- and also to help honor some wonderful Washingtonians who have done great things for senior citizens.

I don�t think there is any question that working as partners, you and I have made real progress in the past four years on issues of tremendous importance to senior citizens.

I would be less than honest if I didn�t acknowledge right now that the speed of our progress is being threatened by global forces outside our control�

Namely the meltdown on Wall Street and the poor performance by federal regulators to police the mortgage and credit crises.

But I want everybody in this room to know that I will not turn my back on senior citizens. I strongly believe that our vital safety net for seniors � which we all fought so hard to strengthen � must be maintained.

...From careful investments in several programs to our fundamental belief that seniors have the right to long-term care�in their own homes or safe, well-staffed facilities if appropriate.

�From our chronic-disease management and prevention strategies to keep our seniors safe and free from abuse�

�To the work we�re doing to make sure our seniors have avenues to thrive by giving back to their communities by volunteering.

To do otherwise would be to shirk our duty. After all, we in Washington have one of the fastest growing aging populations in the nation � By 2020, we will have doubled the number of seniors to about one million.

I wish I had more time today to delve more deeply into the progress we have made�

�For example our investment to cover Medicare prescription drug co-pays for low-income seniors�

To our incredibly successful prescription drug-buying program that is saving significant dollars for thousands of seniors who must take multiple prescription drugs every day...

(Nearly 100,000 Washingtonians are now signed up and, collectively, have saved nearly $5 million in prescription costs � in fact, an average savings of $23 per prescription.)

�Or, I could talk about the fact that we kept the one percent lid on property taxes.

�Or the great partnership I�ve developed with the State Council on Aging, and my enthusiasm for their �readiness for aging� agenda�

In short, I�m excited about how far we�ve come as partners�and I�m determined to keep moving forward on behalf of Washingtonians who spent their lives making this state what it is today -- and that�s all of you.

Now, I�d like to shift my focus today to just a few of the many Washingtonians who do so much to help our senior citizens

I�m delighted to have been chosen to honor Washingtonians who are receiving the Washington the 2008 Excellence in Action Award from the Washington State Council on Aging.

The individual award goes to Rita Swindal of Pullman.

Rita is a volunteer, and over the past 40 years she has done so much to improve the lives of thousands of senior citizens not just in Whitman County but throughout Eastern Washington.

It would be hard to overstate the number of senior citizens and their family members who have benefited from Rita�s passionate advocacy for programs and services for seniors.

Rita, I want to thank you for your energy and dedication. You are the best our state has to offer.

Congratulations!

I next want to present the �2008 Excellence in Action� Award to the organization that has done so much for seniors in the past year.

This year, that award goes to the City of Seattle�s Age 55-Plus Employment Resource Center.

The center, staffed by skilled counselors, has helped scores of older workers and seniors find work in a wide range of industries, and in jobs that sometimes pay as much as $75 an hour.

I want to single out for recognition three women who remain instrumental in making this program a tremendous success.

Alana McIalwain Irene Stewart�and Pam Piering�

Congratulations to this wonderful program and all who made it successful.

Thanks to everybody!