Alliance For Retired Americans - Growth Period and Funding

Growth Period and Funding

By the early 1970s, NCSC had grown to more than 2,000 state and local affiliates across the United States.

During the 1960s and 1970s, NCSC funded its activities largely through the use of federal funds. In 1965, President Johnson signed the Older Americans Act. Title V of the act created Operation Mainstream, which funded part-time employment for under-employed people aged 55 or older. In 1967, Operation Mainstream was renamed the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). The United States Department of Labor in 1968 chose NCSC as one of the organizations designated to operate SCSEP. NCSC called its program the Senior Alert, Industrious, Dedicated, Energetic Service ("Senior AIDES").

Although about 90 percent of NCSC's funds were spent on Senior AIDES, the organization stayed very active politically throughout the 1970s. NCSC was particularly active in lobbying for anti-inflationary measure to protect seniors' incomes, and led an energy policy coalition to protect seniors from high energy costs.

NCSC became embroiled in presidential politics again in 1980. Senator Ted Kennedy strongly wooed NCSC in his ultimately-unsuccessful bid to win the Democratic nomination, going so far as to invite NCSC to hold its next national convention in the White House.

NCSC became even more politically active in the 1980s. The organization fought a number of battles over funding for Social Security and Medicare, inflation and economic policy, heating and energy policy, and affordable housing for the elderly.

In 1984, Congress enacted the Environmental Programs Assistance Act. Within the act was a program called the Senior Environmental Employment (SEE). This program provided funds for people aged 55 or older to be employed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the ability to respond more rapidly to emergency situations and provide ongoing support for long and short-term projects. In 1986, NCSC became a recipient of SEE funds as well.

The same year, NCSC started its first political action committee.

In 1996, NCSC began the process of spinning off its government-funded senior employment and housing programs. It established a new division called the National Senior Citizens Education and Research Center (NSCERC), which continued administer the SCSEP funds. The two organizations later formally separated, although many NCSC board members continued to serve on the NSCERC board. (NSCERC later changed its name to Senior Service America, Inc.)