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60 Plus Association
From SourceWatch
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The 60 Plus Association describes itself as a "non-partisan seniors advocacy group with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach." They list their main issues as the "death tax" (estate tax), energy, health care and Social Security. [1] 60 Plus is registered as a 501(c)(4) non-profit with the Internal Revenue Service. [2]
However, a 2003 report in the AARP Bulletin called 60 Plus a front group for the pharmaceutical industry. 60 Plus, along with Senior Coalition and United Seniors Association, "claim to speak for millions of older Americans, although as recently as 2001 none of the three listed any revenue from membership dues on their tax returns." The article added: "virtually all of their largest contributions in recent years have come from the same source -- the nation's pharmaceutical industry." [3]
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Pharmaceutical industry backing
The 60 Plus Association has championed the pharmaceutical industry in mass mailings, press releases, lobbying and law suits since its inception. It was one of three associations that backed the "astroturf" issue ads of Citizens for Better Medicare (a drug industry front group) during the 2000 elections.
Around the same time, 60 Plus fought state legislation dealing with prescription drugs. The group fought "such legislation in Minnesota and New Mexico," with assistance from the Bonner & Associates firm, which specializes in astroturf lobbying. "The firm's paid callers, reading from scripts that identified them as representatives of 60 Plus, urged residents to ask their governors to veto the legislation. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. later said it had paid Bonner & Associates to make the calls," reported AARP. [3]
"In its 2001 fiscal year, 60 Plus got a total of $275,000 from PhRMA (the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America), CBM (Citizens for Better Medicare) and three drug companies (Merck, Pfizer and Wyeth-Ayerst) plus another $300,000 from Hanwha International Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of a Korean conglomerate with chemical and pharmaceutical interests -- amounts that made up about 29 percent of its revenue," reported AARP. [3]
60 Plus supported a lawsuit by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America against the state of Maine (in a "friend of the court" brief) for daring to try to pass a law that will authentically reduce prices for Medicare drugs by allowing the state to buy in bulk directly from manufacturers. It has also joined a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission regarding campaign reform (specifically in support of soft money for issue ads).
In the 2002 election campaigns, 60 Plus paid for issue ads on local radio and TV stations across the country saying that local Republican candidates "care for seniors" so much that they "passed a prescription drug bill" that "saved us from an inept government bureaucracy meddling with health plan benefits."
Ties to right-wing direct mail firm
60 Plus chair James L. Martin worked for Republican direct mail guru Richard Viguerie. "It has been reported that the group's contract with Viguerie's firm allows it to use 60 Plus's contributor list 'in any manner, for any purpose, for its own account,' at least until 2003," reported AARP. In 1994, Viguerie "helped 60 Plus raise $1.3 million, but the organization was left with less than $93,000 after paying fees and expenses (including postage) to Viguerie's operation." [3]
Funding
60 Plus reported $303,275 in assets, $1,897,258 in income and $1,811,895 in expenses for fiscal year 2006. [2]
The organization's single biggest expense in fiscal year 2006 was "postage and shipping," at $473,996. The same year, 60 Plus reported $15,196 in income from list rental. [4]
Personnel
From their website: [5]
- James L. Martin - President; paid $119,062 in fiscal year 2006 [2]
- Roger Zion - Honorary Chair
Board members listed in their 2006 IRS report: [2]
Contact information
60 Plus Association
1600 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 960
Arlington, Virginia 22209
Phone: (888) 560-7587
Fax: (703) 807-2073
Website: http://www.60plus.org
Email: info AT 60plus.org
SourceWatch resources
- Citizens for Better Medicare
- Front groups
- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
- Pfizer Inc
- Richard Viguerie
- Senior Coalition
- United Seniors Association
External links
References
- ↑ "About 60 Plus," 60 Plus Association website, accessed January 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "60-Plus Association," GuideStar, accessed January 2008.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Bill Hogan, "Pulling Strings from Afar," AARP Bulletin, February 2003.
- ↑ IRS form 990 for 2006, "60-Plus Association," via GuideStar, accessed January 2008.
- ↑ "About 60 Plus: Leadership," 60 Plus Association website, accessed January 2008.
Articles
- Public Citizen, "Citizens for Better Medicare: The Truth Behind the Drug Industry's Deception of America's Seniors Designed to Mislead America's Seniors," June 2000. (This report covers 60 Plus amongst other groups.)
- Bill Hogan, "Pulling Strings from Afar," AARP Bulletin, February 2003.
- Patrick O'Connor, "Rove briefs lobbyists on Social Security plan," The Hill, March 1, 2005.
- Laura Miller, "The Fix Behind Fixing Social Security," PR Watch, March 8, 2005.
- Diane Farsetta, "The Wave of the Future: From Tragedy to Far-Reaching Policy, in Less Than a Month," PR Watch, September 22, 2005.
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