Statement from AARP Board President Lee Hammond on Recently Released Report

For Immediate Release
March 30, 2011

Contact:
AARP Media Relations
media@aarp.org
202-434-2560

In reaction to a report released today by a few members of Congress, AARP President Lee Hammond released the following statement.

“Today, a few Members of Congress issued a report following their months-long and extensive review of AARP’s finances. AARP fully rejects the conclusions of the report.

“Most of the questions raised by the report have already have been asked and answered by previous Congresses. Because we respect the role of Congress in these inquiries, AARP again cooperated with the requests for information and provided hundreds of pages of documents to be responsive.

“AARP is proud of the work it does on behalf of its millions of members and all people 50+, and we want people to be able to judge for themselves whether the report’s inferences are accurate, since AARP disagrees with the conclusions. Therefore, we have posted our annual reports, Form 990s and other public filings, as well as charts on AARP’s revenues and expenditures on our website at www.aarp.org/CheckForYourself. In addition, we’ve included the information that AARP voluntarily sent to Congressional staff at their request over the last several months.

“Finally, AARP is most disturbed by the accusation that our support of any legislation would be done with revenue in mind. AARP has long-maintained that we would gladly forgo revenue in exchange for lifetime health and financial security for all older Americans. We have been conducting ourselves in pursuit of that mission for more than 50 years with the same focus on affecting both public policy officials and the private marketplace to achieve our social welfare goals.

“AARP is confident that upon review the public will agree that our organization operates with the utmost integrity and responsibility. We look forward to answering any further questions about AARP’s work on behalf of the 50+ population that the subcommittees may have at their announced hearing on April 1.”

More information regarding the report can be found on our website: www.aarp.org/checkforyourself.

About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with nearly 35 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.