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Washington, D.C.--The head of the nation's largest independent union of federal employees today applauded the Clinton Administration's proposed long-term health care initiative, calling it "the right step for people who truly have earned it."

President Robert M. Tobias of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said he hopes that Congress will "place high on its agenda" Clinton proposals that the government make available to federal employees and their families private, long-term care insurance, along with a targeted $1,000 tax credit for people with long-term health care needs or for the families that shelter them.

The hope is that the federal long-term care insurance program would not only set an example for the private sector, but enable federal agencies to continue to attract and retain well qualified employees.

"The older Americans who are the subject of these proposals helped build this country," Tobias said. "They paid taxes, raised families, fought wars, built neighborhoods, and now, as advanced age gives rise to medical needs, it is only right that the nation help them address those needs." NTEU represents more than 155,000 employees in 20 federal agencies and departments.

Under the Clinton proposal, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would NTEU on Long-Term Care Proposal--

administer the long-term care program, select private insurance carriers to provide the policies and cover the administrative costs. The insurance would be available to all federal employees and retirees and their spouses, former spouses entitled to an annuity, parents and parents-in-law. OPM anticipates long-term care policies being available to the federal community at 15 to 20 percent below private insurance rates.

Tobias said NTEU supports initiates to provide long-term care to the federal workforce and will work to secure an employer contribution toward these important benefits. "While making this benefit available to federal employees is a positive step toward continuing to attract the best workers, offering some measure of assistance with premiums can only further help to attract the best and brightest to public service," he added.

Tobias pointed to statistics noted by Mr. Clinton as evidence of the pressing need to address the problem of long-term care, most notably that the number of elderly in America will double by 2030 and that by the middle of the next century, the average life span in the country will climb by some six years, to 82 years. "In any terms--human, economic, political--it is an issue we cannot ignore," Tobias said.

In addition to the targeted tax cut and the federal insurance program, Mr. Clinton proposed a nationwide support network for people caring for elderly men and women. He described it as a place for them to gain access to resources, technical guidance and services. The president also urged a national education campaign among Medicare beneficiaries to help them understand the insurance and related choices they have in providing care for elderly family members or friends.