Ag4:252" [ptil] IMPROVING LEGAL REPRESENTATION 3-2 JOINT HEARING BEFORE THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING AND THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON REPRESENTATION OF CITIZEN INTERESTS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY NINETY-THIRD CONGRESS For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Stock Number 5270-02651 1 Appointed January 25, 1974, to fill vacancy on committee by resignation of William B. Saxbe (R., Ohio) from the Senate, January 3, 1974. (II) CONTENTS Opening statement by Senator John V. Tunney, chairman.. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES McFarlin, Emma, special assistant to Mayor Bradley. Kolb, Samuel, chairman, Los Angeles Council on Aging. Garcia, Della, housewife; accompanied by Jose Martinez, president, Spanish-American Council of Senior Citizens; member, Los Angeles Kempel, J. W., retired sales representative, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co---- Fletcher, Thurman, senior aide, University of Southern California Com- Goldhammer, Alan, partner, Goldhammer & Kaufman; president, West Berks, Joseph, legislative committee, National Retired Teachers Associa- tion/American Association of Retired Persons- Ellsworth, Ted, administrator, public programs, Institute of Industrial Relations, UCLA; chairman, Older Americans Social Action Council, Los Angeles Council on Aging....... Barnes, Carnella, assistant director, Department of Senior Citizens Affairs, Woods, Matt, district director, Social Security Administration, Downtown Nathanson, Paul, executive director, National Senior Citizens Law Center. Appendix 1. Letters and statements from individuals and organizations: Item 1. Letter from Edward H. Dralle, chairman, the Affiliated Com- mittees on Aging of Los Angeles County; to Senator John V. Tunney, Item 5. Letter from Leo Haskell, pension committee, San Diego Typo- graphical Union No. 221, San Diego, Calif.; to David Affeldt, chief Appendix 2. Statements submitted by the hearing audience: Soria, Juana, Los Angeles, Calif. IMPROVING LEGAL REPRESENTATION FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1974 U.S. SENATE, SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING AND SUBCOMMITTEE ON REPRESENTATION OF CITIZEN INTERESTS OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, The committee and subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:15 a.m., in room 1138, State Building, Senator John V. Tunney of California presiding. Present: Senator John V. Tunney. Also present: David A. Affeldt, chief counsel; John A. Edie, professional staff member: John Guy Miller, minority staff director; Robert M. M. Seto, minority counsel; Yvonne McCoy, assistant chief clerk, Special Committee on Aging; and Jane Lake Frank, chief counsel, Judiciary Subcommittee on Representation of Citizen Interests. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN V. TUNNEY, CHAIRMAN Senator TUNNEY. This joint hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the Judiciary Subcommittee on Representation of Citizen Interests takes place amid mounting evidence that the legal and other needs of older Americans have, to a large extent, been overlooked and ignored. Every day approximately 4,000 Americans turn 65. Almost 10 percent of our population, and 2 million Californians, are 65 or older. Many of these people are able to lead productive lives. Many others are burdened with health problems, small retirement incomes against which expenditures for food and shelter are disproportionately large, and the enormous red tape involved in securing needed Federal benefits, Social Security, food stamps, veterans' pensions, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income, to which they are now entitled and which are the economic mainstay of a vast majority of older Americans. Social Security, for which more than 90 percent of the elderly are eligible, accounts for more than 50 percent of the total income of two-thirds of all single beneficiaries and one-half of all couples. Too often our elderly are deprived of their rights because no one is available to explain the technical language of Federal regulations, or the requirements for witnessing a will, or the qualifications to be met in a pension plan, or the tax implications of retirement programs. Many of these "legal" problems require lawyers' help, but |