The 60 Plus American Association of Senior Citizens is an

American conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

founded in 1992 and based in Alexandria,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Its stated purpose is to promote solutions to seniors' issues that are grounded in

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

s, less government, and less taxes.About 60 Plus
/ref> The organization is pro-Republican Party. The organization is known for its advocacy for the privatization of Social Security and senior citizen health programs, as well as its opposition to the

estate tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pr ...

. The organization has been funded by

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

David Koch David Hamilton Koch ( ; May 3, 1940 – August 23, 2019) was an American businessman, political activist, philanthropist, and chemical engineer. In 1970, he joined the family business: Koch Industries, the second largest privately held co ...

(of

Koch Industries Koch, Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas, and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiarie ...

). Although the organization did have ties to Koch family in the past, they said in 2022 that there have been no contributions from anyone in the Koch network for well over a decade.

Political advocacy

The organization is known for its advocacy for the privatization of Social Security and senior citizen health programs, as well as its opposition to the

. The organization bills itself as a conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons (

AARP AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older. The organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., said it had more than 38 ...

). In the 2012 election, the organization ran a $3.5 million ad campaign which claimed that President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

had proposed rationing and denial of certain Medicare treatments, and that he would cut $500 billion from the program. A 2021 advertising campaign run by 60 Plus asserted that drug price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies would take $500 billion from Medicare to "cut benefits and no longer pay for lifesaving medicines."

PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times ...

called the advertisement misleading and rated it as false. Another 60 Plus

attack ad In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement designed to wage a personal attack against an opposing candidate or political party in order to gain support for the attacking candidate and attract voters. Attack ads often form part of ...

targeting West Virginia Senator

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III ( ; born August 24, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia from 2010 to 2025. He was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until he registered as ...

in 2022 stated that provisions in the

Build Back Better Act The Build Back Better Act was a bill introduced in the 117th Congress to fulfill aspects of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Plan. It was spun off from the American Jobs Plan, alongside the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, ...

allowing the government to negotiate prices for prescription drugs would "strip $300 billion from Medicare." The ad was found to use misleading math and earned Three Pinocchios from Glenn Kessler's "Fact Checker" feature in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''.

Funding

As a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...

nonprofit organization, the 60 Plus Association is not required to disclose its donors. In 2002, ''

'' reported that 60 Plus received an unrestricted educational grant (which can be used as most needed) from the

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA, pronounced ), formerly known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, is an American trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Founded in 1958, PhRMA ...

, also known as PhRMA. Ken Johnson, senior vice president and spokesman for PhRMA said that as of 2009 the association had not provided any funding to 60 Plus for in nearly five years. In 2009, Carl Forti, a political consultant and spokesman for 60 Plus said, "I don't believe PhRMA has ever given 60 Plus money." He added that 60 Plus is funded by donations from its 5.5 million members. In 2019, PhRMA contributed at least $75,000 to 60 Plus. In 2014, documents left behind by an attendee at an exclusive "donor seminar" put on by Charles and David Koch (of

) revealed that the billionaire brothers count the 60 Plus Association as a part of their political network. In 2014, as a sign of the diversity within Koch-funded projects, the

Freedom Partners Freedom Partners was a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization, which was founded in 2011 under the name Association for American Innovation, was purposed to promote "the benefits of free markets a ...

supported 60 Plus Association ran TV ads that the

Koch brothers The Koch family ( ) is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities in the Koch network and their control of Koch Inc, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2019 revenues of $ ...

did not agree with.

Staff

60 Plus is led by its chairman, James L. Martin, a veteran of the US Marines. He previously led several conservative advocacy groups, and was chief of staff for six years for former Republican Congressman and Senator,

Edward Gurney Edward John Gurney Jr. (January 12, 1914 – May 14, 1996) was an American politician, attorney, and U.S. Army officer who represented the state of Florida in the United States Congress, first in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1963 to 1 ...

of Florida. Martin also served as a member of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's health and human services transition team. In 2017,

Saul Anuzis Saulius "Saul" Anuzis (born March 6, 1959) is the president of the 60 Plus Association and a Republican Party politician from the U.S. State of Michigan. He was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005–2009 and was also a candida ...

was named president of the 60 Plus Association. Anuzis is a Michigan politician who was chairman of the

Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, United States, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been elected in 2015 by delegates ...

from 2005 to 2009 and was also a candidate for chairman of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

in 2009 and 2011. Singer

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

has served as lead spokesman for 60 Plus.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Political advocacy groups in the United States Lobbying organizations in the United States Seniors' organizations Organizations established in 1992 1992 establishments in the United States Conservative organizations in the United States Koch network

Political advocacy

Funding

Staff

References

Further reading

External links