ALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Al Gore yesterday outlined a $30 billion, 10-year proposal of tax credits, Medicaid coverage, and other help for family caregivers that he said was based on his experience finding care for his live-in mother-in-law.
The likely Democratic presidential nominee promoted his ''elder care'' initiative at a Palm Springs senior citizens center as he began a three-day campaigning and fund-raising sweep up the West Coast.
At the core of his proposal, and accounting for the bulk of its price tag, is a $3,000-per-year tax credit for people who need long-term care or who provide such care at home to an elderly or disabled relative or friend.
Gore would also establish a grant program, at $2.5 billion over 10 years, for communities to provide adult day care and respite care intended to give stressed-out caregivers an occasional break.
According to advocacy groups, more than 22 million US households are caring for elderly people. Gore's mother-in-law, Margaret Ann Aitcheson, lives with him, his wife, and their high-school-age son in the vice presidential residence at Washington's Naval Observatory.
The Gores pay for a round-the-clock home health aide for Aitcheson. His mother, who lives in Tennessee, also has a 24-hour aide.
''A lot of families are not fortunate enough to have the resources to handle those expenses very easily,'' Gore said. ''It's been too long that we've asked these Americans to carry a near-crushing burden without the help they need.''
The overwhelming majority of caregivers are women, a group among whom Gore is striving to improve his standing in the polls. And many, like the Gores, have dependent children or grandchildren as well as older folks in their care, earning the nickname ''the sandwich generation.''
On Tuesday, Gore outlined a $38 billion plan to improve child care. Many of these ideas were announced earlier in the campaign.
Gore is repackaging his agenda - all of which, he says, can be paid for out of a projected federal budget surplus - as his campaign tries to introduce him anew to voters. He's getting an assist from the Democratic Party and the TV ad campaign it is launching today.
Next week, he plans a ''prosperity tour'' across key states.
