[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1719 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1719

 To provide for the establishment and maintenance of a National Family 
              Caregiving Strategy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 8, 2015

Ms. Collins (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Bennet, and Ms. 
   Mikulski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the establishment and maintenance of a National Family 
              Caregiving Strategy, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, 
and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2015'' or the ``RAISE Family 
Caregivers Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advisory council.--The term ``Advisory Council'' means 
        the Family Caregiving Advisory Council convened under section 
        4.
            (2) Family caregiver.--The term ``family caregiver'' means 
        a relative, partner, friend, or neighbor who has a significant 
        relationship with, and who provides a broad range of assistance 
        for, a person with a chronic or other health condition, 
        disability, or functional limitation.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
            (4) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the National 
        Family Caregiving Strategy established, maintained, and updated 
        under section 3.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVING STRATEGY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the heads of 
other appropriate Federal agencies, shall develop, maintain, and 
periodically update a National Family Caregiving Strategy.
    (b) Contents.--The Strategy shall identify specific actions that 
Federal, State, and local governments, communities, health care, long-
term services and supports and other providers, employers, and others 
can take to recognize and support family caregivers in a culturally 
competent manner, including with respect to the following:
            (1) Promoting greater adoption of person- and family-
        centered care in all health and long-term services and supports 
        settings, with the person receiving services and supports and 
        the family caregiver (as appropriate) at the center of care 
        teams.
            (2) Assessment and service planning (including care 
        transitions and coordination) involving family caregivers and 
        care recipients.
            (3) Training and other supports.
            (4) Information, education, referral, and care 
        coordination, including hospice, palliative care, and advance 
        planning services.
            (5) Respite options.
            (6) Financial security.
            (7) Workplace policies and supports that allow family 
        caregivers to remain in the workforce.
    (c) Responsibilities of the Secretary.--The Secretary, in carrying 
out this section, shall be responsible for the following:
            (1) Collecting and making publically available information, 
        including evidence-based or promising practices and innovative 
        models (both domestically and internationally) regarding the 
        provision of care by family caregivers or support for family 
        caregivers.
            (2) Coordinating Federal Government programs and activities 
        to recognize and support family caregivers while ensuring 
        maximum effectiveness and avoiding unnecessary duplication.
            (3) Providing technical assistance, such as best practices 
        and information sharing, to State or local efforts, as 
        appropriate, to support family caregivers.
            (4) Addressing disparities in recognizing and supporting 
        family caregivers and meeting the needs of the diverse family 
        caregiving population.
            (5) Assessing all Federal programs regarding family 
        caregivers, including with respect to funding levels.
    (d) Initial Strategy; Updates.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, develop, publish, and submit to Congress the initial 
        Strategy incorporating the items addressed in the Advisory 
        Council's report in section 4(d)(2) and other priority actions 
        for recognizing and supporting family caregivers; and
            (2) not less than annually, update, republish, and submit 
        to Congress the Strategy, taking into account the most recent 
        annual report submitted under section 4(d)(1)--
                    (A) to reflect new developments, challenges, 
                opportunities, and solutions; and
                    (B) to assess progress in implementation of the 
                Strategy and, based on the results of such assessment, 
                recommend priority actions for such implementation.
    (e) Process for Public Input.--The Secretary shall establish a 
process for public input to inform the development of, and updates to, 
the Strategy, including a process for the public to submit 
recommendations to the Advisory Council and an opportunity for public 
comment on the proposed Strategy.
    (f) No Preemption.--Nothing in this Act preempts any authority of a 
State or local government to recognize or support family caregivers.

SEC. 4. FAMILY CAREGIVING ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) Convening.--The Secretary shall convene a Family Caregiving 
Advisory Council to provide advice to the Secretary on recognizing and 
supporting family caregivers.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--The members of the Advisory Council shall 
        consist of--
                    (A) the Federal members under paragraph (2); and
                    (B) the appointed members under paragraph (3).
            (2) Federal members.--The Federal members of the Advisory 
        Council shall consist of the following:
                    (A) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
                Medicaid Services (or the Administrator's designee).
                    (B) The Administrator of the Administration for 
                Community Living (or the Administrator's designee who 
                has experience in both aging and disability).
                    (C) The Assistant Secretary for the Administration 
                for Children and Families (or the Assistant Secretary's 
                designee).
                    (D) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (or the 
                Secretary's designee).
                    (E) The Secretary of Labor (or the Secretary's 
                designee).
                    (F) The Secretary of the Treasury (or the 
                Secretary's designee).
                    (G) The National Coordinator for Health Information 
                Technology (or the National Coordinator's designee).
                    (H) The heads of other Federal departments or 
                agencies (or their designees), as appointed by the 
                President or the Chair of the Advisory Council.
            (3) Appointed members.--In addition to the Federal members 
        under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall appoint not more than 
        15 members of the Advisory Council who are not representatives 
        of Federal departments or agencies and who shall include at 
        least one representative of each of the following:
                    (A) Family caregivers.
                    (B) Older adults with long-term services and 
                supports needs, including older adults facing 
                disparities.
                    (C) Individuals with disabilities.
                    (D) Advocates for family caregivers, older adults 
                with long-term services and supports needs, and 
                individuals with disabilities.
                    (E) Health care and social service providers.
                    (F) Long-term services and supports providers.
                    (G) Employers.
                    (H) Direct care workers or advocates for such 
                workers.
                    (I) State and local officials.
                    (J) Accreditation bodies.
                    (K) Relevant industries.
                    (L) Veterans.
                    (M) As appropriate, other experts in family 
                caregiving.
            (4) Diverse representation.--The Secretary shall ensure 
        that the membership of the Advisory Council reflects the 
        diversity of--
                    (A) the overall population; and
                    (B) family caregivers.
    (c) Meetings.--The Advisory Council shall meet quarterly. Meetings 
of the Advisory Council shall be open to the public.
    (d) Advisory Council Annual Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 15 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Advisory 
        Council shall submit to the Secretary and Congress a report 
        concerning the development, maintenance, and updating of the 
        Strategy and the implementation thereof, including a 
        description of the outcomes of the recommendations and 
        priorities under paragraph (2), as appropriate. Such report 
        shall be made publically available by the Advisory Council.
            (2) Initial report.--The Advisory Council's initial report 
        under paragraph (1) shall include--
                    (A) an inventory and assessment of all federally 
                funded efforts to recognize and support family 
                caregivers and the outcomes of such efforts, including 
                analyses of the extent to which federally funded 
                efforts are reaching family caregivers and gaps in such 
                efforts;
                    (B) recommendations for priority actions--
                            (i) to improve and better coordinate 
                        programs; and
                            (ii) to deliver services based on the 
                        performance, mission, and purpose of a program 
                        while eliminating redundancies and ensuring the 
                        needs of family caregivers are met;
                    (C) recommendations to reduce the financial impact 
                and other challenges of caregiving on family 
                caregivers; and
                    (D) an evaluation of how family caregiving impacts 
                the Medicare program, and Medicaid program, and other 
                Federal programs.

SEC. 5. SHARING OF DATA.

    The heads of Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate, 
shall share with the Secretary any data that is--
            (1) maintained by the respective department or agency; and
            (2) needed by the Secretary to prepare the initial and 
        updated Strategies under section 3(d).

SEC. 6. SUNSET PROVISION.

    The authority and obligations established by this Act shall 
terminate on December 31, 2030.
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