Bill Novelli is CEO of AARP, a membership organization of 40 million people age 50 and older, half of whom remain actively employed. AARP’s mission is to enhance the quality[…]
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Washington has become more rancorous since he arrived, Novelli says.
I think it’s gotten more rancorous. There are more lobbyists today than ever before. You know you’ve got this dreaded K Street corridor. This is where the lobbyists hang out. What you’ve got is more partisanship than ever before. I asked a speaker . . . a recent Speaker of the House, “Do you think it’s worse now than when you started?” And he said, “No it isn’t. In my day they wouldn’t even learn your name.” But other people say, “Yeah it’s very much worse. It is worse now than it’s ever been.” And . . . and there are a variety of reasons for this, but it’s gotta stop. We’ve got to get past this gridlock if we wanna get anything done in Washington.
Recorded on: 9/27/07
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