[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2786 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2786

  To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide social service 
  agencies with the resources to provide services to meet the unique 
  needs of Holocaust survivors to age in place with dignity, comfort, 
                     security, and quality of life.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2011

Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                             the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide social service 
  agencies with the resources to provide services to meet the unique 
  needs of Holocaust survivors to age in place with dignity, comfort, 
                     security, and quality of life.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Holocaust Survivors Assistance Act 
of 2011''.

            TITLE I--PURPOSES; FINDINGS; DEFINITIONS; GRANTS

SEC. 101. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to include ``older individuals who are Holocaust 
        survivors'' to the list of groups that receive preference for 
        services as defined in section 305(a)(2)(E) of the Older 
        Americans Act of 1965,
            (2) to designate within the Administration on Aging an 
        individual to have responsibility for older individuals who are 
        Holocaust survivors, and
            (3) to create a grant program to increase and improve 
        transportation services for older individuals with preference 
        to those older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.

SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) During the Holocaust, which took place between 1933 and 
        1945, an estimated 6,000,000 Jews, as well as millions from 
        other targeted groups, were murdered by the Nazis and their 
        collaborators.
            (2) Approximately 127,000 Holocaust survivors remain in the 
        United States, and thousands pass away each year.
            (3) Holocaust survivors are getting older and frailer, and 
        will be seeking additional support and assistance from social 
        service providers to enable them to age in place. Providers 
        face increased levels of demand from vulnerable individuals 
        without any additional revenue to cover needed services.
            (4) All Holocaust survivors are at least 65 years old with 
        approximately three quarters of them older than 75 and a 
        majority in their 80s and 90s.
            (5) More than half of all Holocaust survivors who emigrated 
        to the United States from the former Soviet Union after 1965 
        fall beneath 200 percent of the Federal poverty threshold and 
        constitute an extremely vulnerable at-risk population in the 
        United States.
            (6) Holocaust survivors continue to live with the mental 
        and physical scars of the unconscionable trauma caused by the 
        Holocaust.
            (7) While institutionalized settings are beneficial for 
        some older people, long-term care facilities can have an 
        adverse effect on Holocaust survivors. For many Holocaust 
        survivors, institutionalized settings reintroduce sights, 
        sounds, smells, emotions and routines which can induce panic, 
        anxiety, and re-traumatization as a result of experiences 
        resulting from the Holocaust.
            (8) Approximately two-thirds of Holocaust survivors live 
        alone and living alone is a risk factor for 
        institutionalization.
            (9) Low income Holocaust survivors are more reliant on 
        social service programs than most other older Americans, with 
        proportionally more Holocaust survivors needing services such 
        as personal care, home-delivered and congregate meals, 
        transportation, counseling and mental health support.

SEC. 103. DEFINITION.

    Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(55) The term `Holocaust survivor' means an individual 
        who--
                    ``(A)(i) lived in a country between 1933 and 1945 
                under a Nazi regime, under Nazi occupation, or under 
                the control of Nazi collaborators; or
                    ``(ii) fled from a country between 1933 and 1945 
                under a Nazi regime; under Nazi occupation, or under 
                the control of Nazi collaborators;
                    ``(B) was persecuted between 1933 and 1945 on the 
                basis of race, religion, physical or mental disability, 
                sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity, 
                or other basis; and
                    ``(C) was a member of a group that was persecuted 
                by the Nazis.''.

SEC. 104. ORGANIZATION.

    Section 305(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3025(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(E) by inserting ``older individuals 
        who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' each 
        place it appears, and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(E) by inserting ``older individuals 
        who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,''.

SEC. 105. AREA PLANS.

    Section 306 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3025(a)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``older 
                individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after 
                ``proficiency,'' each place it appears,
                    (B) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) in clause (i)(I)(bb) by 
                                inserting ``older individuals who are 
                                Holocaust survivors,'' after 
                                ``proficiency,'' and
                                    (II) in clause (ii) by inserting 
                                ``older individuals who are Holocaust 
                                survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' 
                                each place it appears, and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) in subclause (VII) by striking 
                                ``and'' at the end,
                                    (II) by redesignating subclause 
                                (VIII) as subclause (IX), and
                                    (III) by inserting after subclause 
                                (VIII) the following:
                                    ``(VIII) older individuals who are 
                                Holocaust survivors; and'', and
                    (C) in paragraph (7)(B)(iii) by inserting ``, in 
                particular, older individuals who are Holocaust 
                survivors,'' after ``placement'', and
            (2) by inserting ``older individuals who are Holocaust 
        survivors,'' after ``areas,''.

SEC. 106. STATE PLANS.

    Section 307(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3027(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4) by inserting ``older individuals who 
        are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'',
            (2) in paragraph (16)(A)--
                    (A) in clause (v) by striking ``and'' at the end, 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(vii) older individuals who are Holocaust 
                        survivors; and'', and
            (3) in paragraph (28)(A)(ii) by inserting ``older 
        individuals who are Holocaust survivors,'' after 
        ``proficiency,''.

SEC. 107. CONSUMER CONTRIBUTIONS.

    Section 315 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030c-2) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(2) by inserting ``older individuals 
        who are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,'' and
            (2) in subsection (d) by inserting ``older individuals who 
        are Holocaust survivors,'' after ``proficiency,''.

SEC. 108. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    Section 372(c)(2)(A) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3030s-2(c)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``individuals)'' inserting 
``individuals and older individuals who are Holocaust survivors)''.

SEC. 109. PREVENTION OF ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.

    Section 721(b)(12) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3058i(b)(12)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``or'' at the end,
            (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``or'', and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) older individuals who are Holocaust 
                survivors.''.

               TITLE II--FUNCTIONS OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY

SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATION ON AGING.

    Section 201 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g)(1) The Assistant Secretary is authorized to designate within 
the Administration a person to have responsibility for older 
individuals who are Holocaust survivors.
    ``(h) It shall be the duty of the Assistant Secretary, acting 
through the person designated to have responsibility for older 
individuals who are Holocaust survivors.''.

     TITLE III--ACTIVITIES FOR HEALTH, INDEPENDENCE, AND LONGEVITY

SEC. 301. INNOVATION TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS 
              WHO ARE HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS.

    Part A of title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3032 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 423. INNOVATION TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS 
              WHO ARE HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Assistant Secretary shall award grants or 
contracts to nonprofit organizations to improve and increase 
transportation services for older individuals, with preference toward 
those older individuals who are Holocaust survivors. The Assistant 
Secretary shall make grants or enter into such contracts for period of 
not less than 5 years.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A nonprofit organization receiving a 
        grant or contract under subsection (a) shall use the funds 
        received through such grant or contract to carry out a 
        demonstration project, or to provide technical assistance to 
        assist local transit providers, area agencies on aging, senior 
        centers, and local senior support groups, to encourage and 
        facilitate coordination of Federal, State, and local 
        transportation services and resources for older individuals who 
        are Holocaust survivors. The organization may use the funds to 
        develop and carry out an innovative transportation 
        demonstration project to create transportation services for 
        older individuals.
            ``(2) Specific activities.--In carrying out a demonstration 
        project or providing technical assistance under paragraph (1) 
        the organization may carry out activities that include--
                    ``(A) developing innovative approaches for 
                improving access by older individuals to transportation 
                services, including volunteer driver programs, 
                economically sustainable transportation programs, and 
                programs that allow older individuals to transfer their 
                automobiles to a provider of transportation services in 
                exchange for the services;
                    ``(B) preparing information on transportation 
                options and resources for older individuals and 
                organizations serving such individuals, and 
                disseminating the information by establishing and 
                operating a toll-free telephone number;
                    ``(C) developing models and best practices for 
                providing comprehensive integrated transportation 
                services for older individuals, including services 
                administered by the Secretary of Transportation, by 
                providing ongoing technical assistance to agencies 
                providing services under title III and by assisting in 
                coordination of public and community transportation 
                services; and
                    ``(D) providing special services to link older 
                individuals to transportation services not provided 
                under title III.
    ``(c) Preference.--In awarding grants and entering into contracts 
under paragraph (a), the Assistant Secretary shall give preference to 
organizations and institutions that have previous extensive experience 
working with and conducting assessment of the needs of Holocaust 
survivors who are older individuals.
    ``(d) Consultation.--In determining the type of programs and 
activities used to improve and increase transportation assistance for 
Holocaust survivors, the Assistant Secretary shall consult with the 
individual designated by Section 201(h)(1) of the Act and with national 
organizations with special expertise in serving Holocaust survivors who 
are older individuals.
    ``(e) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant or 
enter into a contract under paragraph (a), an entity shall have 
previous extensive experience working with and conducting assessment of 
the needs of older individuals.
    ``(f) Report to Congress.--The Assistant Secretary with assistance 
from the individual designated by Section 201 (h)(1) of the Act, shall 
prepare and submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
the President pro tempore of the Senate an annual report on the status 
and needs, including the priority areas of concern, of older 
individuals who are Holocaust survivors.''.
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