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Joint Economic Committee Holds First Major Hearing to Examine Eldercare Challenges and Solutions

Press Release

Date: May 10, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Oil and Gas Higher Education Arts, Entertainment, and History


FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY Contacts:
May 10, 2007 Israel Klein (JEC)
202-224-0368
Semonti Mustaphi (Klobuchar)
202-228-3783
MEDIA ADVISORY:
AS FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES FACE
SKYROCKETING COSTS OF CARING FOR
THE ELDERLY, JOINT ECONOMIC
COMMITTEE HOLDS FIRST MAJOR
HEARING TO EXAMINE ELDERCARE
CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
Growing "Sandwich Generation" Weighed Down by Financial Burdens of
Caring for Elderly Parents, Raising Children, and Saving for Their Own
Retirements
Changing Demographics are Causing Middle Class Families to Get Hit
Simultaneously With High Costs of College, Health Care, Gas Prices, and
Eldercare, Presenting a Growing Problem for Family Savings, Business
Productivity, and the Economy
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will hold a Joint Economic
Committee hearing, "Are the Explosive Costs of Elder Care Hurting Family Finances
and Business Competition?" to address the rising costs of providing care for aging
parents on May 16, 2007 at 9:30am in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.
The JEC will examine the growing economic impact of elder care on families,
businesses, and the broader economy. As the 77 million baby boomers approach
retirement and as more women enter the workforce, these problems are only expected to
increase. The number of aging parents per worker between the ages of 45 and 54 is
expected to double by 2035.
The "Sandwich Generation," is the growing number of families who are caught between
the conflicting demands of caring for their aging parents, while raising their children.
From 1992 to 2004, the percentage of households 55 and older with more debt than assets
grew faster compared with the overall population. The trends toward delayed
childbearing, smaller family size, longer life expectancy, and increasing costs, are placing
substantial burdens on the sandwich generation, just when they should be saving for their
children's college tuition and investing in their own retirement.
The panelists will include:
• Richard Johnson, Principle Research Associate at the Urban Institute
• Virginia Morris, Author of How to Care for Aging Parents
• Leni Wilcox, Division Director of the Wilder Foundation's
Community Services for the Elderly
• Scott Weisberg, Vice President for Compensation, Benefits, and
Staffing at General Mills Inc.
The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was
created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of
economic policy.
www.jec.senate.gov
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