On September 28, the House approved, by voice vote, the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006 (H.R. 6197); the Senate approved, by voice vote, the bill on September 30. The measure would reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA) (P.L. 89-73) and provide “such sums as may be necessary” for the Administration on Aging, grants to states and community for activities, such as the Meals on Wheels program, community service employment programs, and research for FY2007-2011. The family caregiver program would be authorized at $160 million in FY2007, $166.5 million in FY2008, $173 million in FY2009, $180 million in FY2010, and $187 million in FY2011.
The House passed another version of the bill on June 21 (see The Source, 6/23/06). The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed its version on June 28 (see The Source, 6/30/2006). The original House measure would have required 30 percent of participants in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) to be employed in the private sector, rather than by charities or government agencies, within five years; the Senate bill did not include such a provision. The compromise bill, H.R. 6197, would require 25 percent of SCSEP participants to be employed in the private sector by 2011.
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) said, “Aging is a fact of life. However, through the establishment of Social Security, Medicare, and the enactment of the Older Americans Act, living in poverty no longer is a fact of aging. From 1959 to 2002, the percentage of older people living in poverty fell from 35 percent down to 10 percent. The Older Americans Act of 1965 is the landmark legislation that articulated our core values as a nation. The act begins with a declaration of objectives, which includes the following: ‘Retirement in health, honor, dignity, after years of contribution to the economy.’ This is a statement of our national obligation to older Americans. The Older Americans Act represents our commitment to meeting that obligation. This law provides for supportive services, such as transportation, housekeeping, and personal care…It provides preventive health services and supports family caregivers. Finally, it protects the rights of vulnerable older Americans by combating consumer fraud and protecting seniors from abuse…This legislation has the support of the aging community. More than anything else, they are asking us to complete this work before we leave town in the next few days. Today, we move one step closer to this goal. It is my hope that once we send this legislation to the president for his signature, we will not relegate the Older Americans Act to the back burner. I hope that our resources will match our rhetoric and the policy goals laid out in this legislation.”
“More than 49 million Americans and counting are over the age of 60,” said Rep. Howard McKeon (R-CA). “It is the fastest growing segment of our population. In fact, by the year 2050, that number will reach nearly 90 million and comprise almost a quarter of our population. Therefore, supporting the needs of seniors is as important as ever, and to do that we must ensure the long-term stability of programs on which they depend…Initially established in 1965, the Older Americans Act is no longer the 1960s-era social program it once was. Rather, it has been transformed into the first stop for seniors to identify home- and community-based long-term care options as well as other supportive services that could help prevent or delay expensive institutional care and generate significant savings in federal entitlement programs. And H.R. 6197 builds on that progress. Specifically, the bipartisan reauthorization will promote consumer choice as well as home- and community-based supports to help older individuals avoid institutional care; strengthen health and nutrition programs while ensuring no state loses a dime as they operate these programs; improves educational and volunteer services; encourages wealthier seniors to pay for many of their program benefits, maximizing the taxpayer investment for low-income seniors; increases the federal, state, and local coordination; and reforms employment-based training for older Americans.”
