protect seniors from high energy costs. NCSC became embroiled in presidential politics again in 1980. Senator Ted Kennedy strongly wooed NCSC in his ultimately unsuccessful bid to win the Democratic nomination, going so far as to invite NCSC to hold its next national convention in the White House. NCSC became even more politically active in the 1980s. The organization fought a number of battles over funding for Social Security and Medicare, inflation and economic policy, heating and energy policy, and affordable housing for the elderly. In 1984, Congress enacted the Environmental Programs Assistance Act. Within the act was a program called the Senior Environmental Employment (SEE). This program provided funds for people aged 55 or older to be employed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the ability to respond more rapidly to emergency situations and provide ongoing support for long and short-term projects. In 1986, NCSC became a recipient of SEE funds as well. That same year, NCSC started its first political action committee. In 1996, NCSC began the process of spinning off its government-funded, senior-employment and housing programs. It established a new division called the National Senior Citizens Education and Research Center (NSCERC), which continued to administer the SCSEP funds. The two organizations later formally separated, although many NCSC board members continued to serve on the NSCERC board. (NSCERC later changed its name to Senior Service America, Inc.) Decline, reorganization and name change In May 2000, the AFL-CIO executive council voted to dissolve NCSC, and reform the group as the Alliance for Retired Americans. Labor-leaders also wanted to reform the group as a tax-exempt nonprofit to which tax-deductible donations could be made. The reorganization also meant that AFL-CIO members could now automatically enroll their retirees as members rather than ask them to sign up. The "new" organization was officially launched in May 2001. Since its relaunch in 2001, the Alliance has been very active politically. It fought against the Republican-endorsed Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2005, and President George W. Bush's Social Security privatization-reform plan in 2004. The Alliance endorsed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2009, and protested against Rep. Paul Ryan's 2010 budget proposals, and proposals by the President's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to cut Social Security benefits. The Alliance has also clashed with AARP. The Alliance has often said it is not a competitor with AARP; and, that