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For Active and Retired Federal Employees RETIREMENT LIFE JANUARY 2011, V olume 87, N umber 1 LEGISLATIVE REPORT 8 What NARFE Anticipates in the 112th Congress Cover design by Jim Richards 14 Bill Expanding Telework Goes to White House 14 NARFE: Add Feds to Senior Relief Bill 16 Medicare Fairness Bill Introduced COLUMNS 18 Register Now for NARFE’s Legislative Conference 6 Message From the National President 20 Civics 101: Historic GOP Gains; Chambers Split 36 Managing Money NARFE’s Accomplishments, 111th Congress 22 38 Live Well 24 NARFE’s Legislative Program, 112th Congress OVER TORY SPECIAL SECTION C S 32 New National 28 The Fiscal Commission: For feds, a plan by the Executive Board commission’s co-chairs would cut retirement and health benefits, freeze pay for three years and reduce the work force by 10 percent. NARFE Resources DEPARTMENTS Leg. Conference Registration . 19 40 Questions & Answers Membership Application . 47 46 NARFE News Dues Withholding . 49 50 Out & About Alzheimer’s Coupon . 50 51 Letters NARFE Member Perks . 52 54 For the Record: TSP Investments, COLA Chart visit us online at www.narfe.org NATIONAL OFFICERS JOSEPH A. BEAUDOIN , President [email protected] PAUL H. CAREW , Vice President Editor [email protected] Margaret M. Carter ELAINE HUGHES , Secretary Assistant Editor [email protected] Donna J. St. John CHARLES W. SAYLOR , Treasurer [email protected] Graphic Designer Beth Bedard Contributing Designers REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS Charlene Gridley REGION I Gilbert W. Blaisdell REGION VI Jerome S. Smith Jim Richards (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Editorial Board: Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Republic of Panama and Texas) Joseph A. Beaudoin Vermont) 5900 Raleigh Drive Paul H. Carew 3 Larnards Court Tyler, TX 75703-5636 Elaine Hughes Amesbury, MA 01913-3309 Tel: 903-534-5849 Charles W. Saylor Tel: 978-388-1830 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Editorial Office REGION VII Betty Lucero-Turner NARFE, Attn: NARFE magazine REGION II Ronald P. Bowers (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and 606 North Washington St. (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Wyoming) Alexandria, VA 22314-1914 New Jersey and Pennsylvania) 4437 Turnberry Crescent Phone: 703-838-7760 404 Kilree Road, #301 Pueblo, CO 81001-1175 Fax: 703-838-7781 Timonium, MD 21093-7599 Tel: 719-583-0910 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 410-308-0420 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] National Headquarters REGION VIII Helen L. Zajac NARFE Telephones Open REGION III Donald Stewart (California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada 8 a.m.-4:45 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Republic of Philippines) Telephone: 703-838-7760 Puerto Rico, South Carolina and Virgin 106 Cottonwood Drive Fax: 703-838-7785 Islands) Vallejo, CA 94591-5659 E-mail: [email protected] 531 Sevilla Ave. Tel: 707-644-7565 Coral Gables, FL 33134-5714 Fax: 707-644-5019 Toll-free phone numbers ( specific use only ) Member Records: 800-456-8410 Tel: 305-442-6388 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Recruitment & Retention: 800-627-3394 REGION IX Lanny G. Ross Legislative Hotline: 877-217-8234 REGION IV Paul E. Johnson (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Advertising Sales (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Washington) Warren Berger Wisconsin) 7450 Illahee Road, NE Media People Inc. P.O. Box 234, 7183 Main St. Bremerton, WA 98311-9431 122 East 42nd Street, Suite 725 Wadesville, IN 47638-0234 Tel: 360-692-9741 New York, NY 10168 Tel: 812-306-5137 Fax: 360-662-0384 212-779-7172, ext. 223 Fax: 812-673-4989 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] REGION X William F. Martin Web site: www.narfe.org REGION V Richard G. Thissen (Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Virginia and West Virginia) The Association, since July 1970, has been Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota) 294 Tyler Point Lane classified by the IRS as a tax exempt labor or - P. O. Box 485 Bumpass, VA 23024-4633 ganization [not a union]; however, dues and Lake Ozark, MO 65049-0485 Tel: 540-872-3345 gifts or contributions to the Association are Tel: 573-365-5679 Fax: 540-872-3445 not deductible as charitable contributions for Fax: 573-964-5074 E-mail: [email protected] income tax purposes. E-mail: [email protected] NARFE for the Visually Impaired On the Telephone: This publication can be heard on the telephone by persons who have trouble seeing or reading the print edition. Volume 87, Number 1. NARFE (ISSN 1948-4453) is published monthly by the National Active and Retired Fed - For more information, contact the National ® eral Employees Association (NARFE), 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Periodicals postage paid at Federation of the Blind NFB-NEWSLINE Alexandria, VA, and additional mailing offices. Members: Annual dues includes subscription. Non-member sub - service at 866-504-7300 or go to www.nfb scription rate $45. Postmaster: Send address change to: NARFE Attn: Member Records, NARFE 606 N. Washington newsline.org. St., Alexandria, VA 22314. To ensure prompt delivery, members should also forward changes of address without On Tape: Issues of NARFE magazine are also delay. Because of the volume involved, NARFE cannot acknowledge nor be responsible for unsolicited pictures available on cassette through the National Li - and manuscripts, although every reasonable precaution is taken. All submissions become the property of NARFE. brary Service for the Blind and Physically Contents of this magazine are copyrighted © 2011. Advertisements in the magazine are not endorsements of Handicapped. To find out about availability products and/or services by NARFE, unless officially stated in the ad. We shall accept advertising on the same in your area, call 800-424-8567 and ask for basis as other reputable publications: that is, we shall not knowingly permit a dishonest advertisement to ap - the Reference Section. pear in NARFE, but at the same time we will not undertake to guarantee the reliability of our advertisers. 4 JANUARY 2011 | NARFE $ L 5 O W 4 A .9 S 5 ! Actual size is 11.6 mm Who said kangaroos aren’t found in America. 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