USA Next


USA Next, formerly known as the United Seniors Association, is a United States lobbyist group whose slogan is "Building a Legacy of Freedom for America's Families". It presents itself as a conservative senior citizens organization. The group is a 501 organization. Since 2001, Charles Jarvis has led the group.
According to the group's website, "USA United Generations and USA NEXT are grassroots projects of United Seniors Association which is celebrating its 13th anniversary as the non-partisan, 1.5 million-plus nationwide grassroots network Uniting the Generations for America’s Future."
United Seniors Association took in $26.6 million in revenue for 2003 according to the group's IRS form 990.
USA Next presents itself as an interest group for senior citizens as an alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons.

Criticisms

As a self-described conservative alternative to the AARP USA Next has often received criticism for its political orientation and associations; in particular, to its connections to conservative positions, organizations, businesses, etc. It also receives criticism for certain organizational issues.
In February 2003, the rival organization AARP stated that "recently, the U.S. Social Security Administration ordered one of them to halt what it determined to be misleading mailings." USANext was eventually fined $554,000 for two such mailings, violating a 1988 amendment to the Social Security Act in 1988 prohibiting the private use of the phrase "Social Security" and several related terms in any way that would convey a false impression of approval from the Social Security Administration. The constitutionality of this law was upheld in United Seniors Association, Inc. v. Social Security Administration, ___ F.3d ___ . On May 30, 2006, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal.
It also reports that it began backing a plan "to
allow more production of domestic energy in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" after receiving more than $181,000 from Anchorage-based Arctic Power.
The liberal think-tank Center for American Progress stated in its Report of November 14, 2003:
A May 2004 article from the center-Left The Washington Monthly elaborated as follows:
In 2004, USANext was one of the groups supporting Bush administration's Social Security privatization plan. According to the New York Times, the organization had $28 million in annual revenues, and it aggressively seeks contributions from industry: "Health care companies, energy companies, the food industry, just about everybody except for financial investment companies."
The Times reported in February 2005 the group's recent hires:
In March 2004, the United Seniors Association commissioned a push-poll about the potential rise in long distance telephone costs as a result of a prior DC Circuit Court ruling.
In a letter to Congress on March 10, 2004, Mary P. Mahoney, Vice President of Government Relations for USA, wrote: "We are concerned about the recent development in the DC Circuit Court that over turned what Congress has done in regard to local telephone competition. We know you must be as concerned about this as we are... I have enclosed an op-ed by Charlie Jarvis, an op-ed by Tech Central Station's James Glassman, as well as a script of a telephone survey we will be conducting in your district."
This action appears to be coordinated with a campaign run by Voices for Choices to pressure the Bush administration and Federal Communications Commission to appeal a recent telecommunications court decision. In addition to being president of USA, Charlie Jarvis is a board member of Defenders of Property Rights, one of several conservative groups that comprise the AT&T-funded "Voices for Choices" coalition front group. The Washington Monthly also exposed Tech Central Station in December 2003 as a DCI creation with funding from AT&T. According to news reports, AT&T opposed the DC Circuit ruling because the decision would impact the company's bottom line.
In February 2005, USA Next hired the advertising agency behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign that attacked 2004 presidential candidate John F. Kerry. The group gained instant notoriety late in that month when they placed an advertisement on several conservative web sites and blogs. This advertisement depicted a large red 'x' over a picture of a soldier and a large green check mark over a picture of a just-married homosexual couple. The AARP has no position on marriage rights for homosexuals, but opposed an amendment to Ohio's state constitution intended to prohibit gay marriage, claiming it would deprive all unmarried cohabitating couples of rights they currently enjoyed. The amendment was passed in November 2004 by Ohio voters.
In March, 2005, the couple Richard and Steven Hansen-Raymen pictured in the advertisement filed a US$25 million lawsuit against USA Next, alleging that group used the couple's image without their permission. A restraining order preventing USA Next from running the ad was granted.
While the organization, however, has no age requirement for membership it does openly claim an agenda for reforming/retrenching of the American Social Security entitlement program and strengthening American institutions so they will be able to benefit current and future generations.
A recent "opinion poll" on the USA Next web site asked the question, "Did you know that the AARP has taken over $1 billion in taxpayer money over the last 20 years?"
The organization has also received criticism from conservatives and libertarians for signing onto a lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Theodore Frank of the American Enterprise Institute called the lawsuit "frivolous" and Walter Olson of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and Cato Institute criticized the move as placing them in company with Eliot Spitzer for litigiousness.

Supportive views

There are seniors who feel that the AARP has a socially liberal outlook, which is not relevant to their needs as elders and may actively go against their values. Seniors who feel this way find conservative groups like USA Next to be more compatible to themselves. This more socially conservative outlook is buttressed by Charles Jarvis's connections to Focus on the Family.

Staff and board members

Information from Public Citizen and from USA's IRA form 990.