Washington, DC – U.S. Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD (R-Southwest Louisiana) today conducted a joint hearing of the Ways and Means Oversight and Health Subcommittees with Congressmen Wally Herger (R-CA) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) to investigate the organizational structure and finances of AARP. The hearing comes on the heels of the recently released report, “Behind the Veil: The AARP America Doesn’t Know,” which exposes the conflict between the organization’s drive for profits, the best interests of its members and its tax-exempt status.

“Today, more than fifty years after its founding as a small nonprofit helping the retired, AARP has morphed into an insurance and advertising powerhouse,”Boustany said in his opening statement. “According to the most recent data we have, AARP, Inc. and its for-profit organizations annually process billions of dollars in insurance premiums, and earn nearly $700 million in insurance revenues and over $100 million in advertising revenues. Yet as AARP, Inc. has grown by leaps and bounds, its funding for charitable work has nearly flat-lined.

“As one of the country’s most well-known non-profits, many of America’s seniors trust AARP to represent their interests,” Boustany said. “But in light of AARP’s dependence on its income from insurance products, there is good reason to question whether AARP is primarily looking out for seniors or just its own bottom line. Before seniors decide whether AARP is worthy of their trust, or their hard-earned dollars, they deserve all of the facts. The purpose of this hearing is to provide a public examination of the facts so seniors can decide those questions for themselves.”

In addition to its $2.2 billion in assets and revenues in excess of $1.4 billion in 2009, AARP collected nearly $100 million in taxpayer-funded federal grants that year. Members of Congress are recommending a thorough and immediate investigation of AARP by the Internal Revenue Service to determine if the organization should have its tax-exempt status revoked.

Boustany is a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight.