October 31, 2007 - "HR 3582 offers Congress an historic opportunity to send three important economic and social signals," said Dorie Seavey, PHI's director of policy research, in an October 25 hearing on a proposed bill to extend minimum wage and overtime protection to home care workers. "First, that home care workers should be on an equal footing with respect to all other low-wage occupations. Second, that, within long-term care, the home care labor market should not have second-class status with respect to compensation - and, therefore, with respect to its ability to attract and retain workers. And finally, that federal lawmakers can work together to coordinate, rather than send conflicting messages about, the direction of our nation's long-term care policy."