BREWER — A retired Maine principal has just returned from a series of meetings in Washington that included President Clinton, House Speaker Newt Gingrich and representatives of the Social Security Administration.

Perry Amsden was one of 41 volunteer leaders who gathered in Washington to develop the American Association of Retired Persons’ national public policy agenda for the year.

This was Amsden’s sixth year of service on the national council, which met Feb. 4-9.

Amsden said he was assigned to a subcommittee dealing with long-term health care and social service issues. Other committees deal with consumer issues such as housing, transportation, telephones, telecommunications, economics, taxation and Social Security.

Amsden, a retired educator who served as a principal in the Bangor area for 20 years, said the AARP has an extensive policy book relating to national and state issues.

He said Clinton gave the AARP representatives his thoughts on Medicare and Medicaid, then Gingrich talked about resolving the budget deficit and Medicare-Medicaid issues.

He said the group met with the head of a national pharmaceutical association who talked about drug costs and the efforts manufacturers were making to try to keep drug prices under control.

The AARP membership and Gingrich are at odds on solving Medicare problems. The hospital part of Medicare is running out of money, but the AARP maintains that the physician coverage part will not be in any danger until 2010.

Amsden said he believes Gingrich is convinced that Medicare problems have to be resolved entirely this year. But the AARP leaders would like to take more time to explore options for resolving the physican component and take action this year only on the hospital coverage component.