[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6388 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6388

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
 the Administration for Community Living, to carry out a grant program 
 for States to provide telephone reassurance services to certain older 
 adults and to other adults with disabilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 2023

Mr. Molinaro (for himself, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Davis of 
 North Carolina, and Ms. Lee of Nevada) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
 the Administration for Community Living, to carry out a grant program 
 for States to provide telephone reassurance services to certain older 
 adults and to other adults with disabilities, 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 ``Friendly Calls for Our Seniors Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the National Academies of Sciences, 
        Engineering, and Medicine report, Social Isolation and 
        Loneliness in Older Adults, more than one-third of adults aged 
        45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 
        65 and older, are considered to be socially isolated.
            (2) According to a recent report released by Dr. Vivek 
        Murthy, the Surgeon General of the United States, ``lacking 
        social connection can increase the risk of premature death as 
        much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day''.
            (3) According to a 2017 study conducted by AARP, a lack of 
        social contact among older adults is associated with an 
        estimated $6,700,000,000 in additional Federal spending 
        annually.
            (4) Seniors and individuals with disabilities in rural 
        communities face additional challenges, including inadequate 
        access to health care, a lack of community events or activities 
        for the aged, limited transportation and shopping options, and 
        higher rates of poverty.

SEC. 3. TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--
            (1) Establishement of program.--The Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services (in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary''), 
        acting through and with funds available to the Administration 
        for Community Living, shall establish and carry out a program 
        to make grants to States to provide telephone reassurance 
        services to older adults, and to other adults with 
        disabilities, who are at risk of social isolation or 
        loneliness, and do not have supportive assistance.
            (2) Reservation of funds.--
                    (A) Amount allowed.--Not more than 1 percent of the 
                amount appropriated to carry out this Act in any fiscal 
                year may be reserved by the Secretary to carry out this 
                Act.
                    (B) First use of funds reserved.--Funds reserved 
                under subparagraph (A) shall first be used to conduct 
                comprehensive, high-quality evaluations of the programs 
                carried out with grants made under this Act.
    (b) Applications for Grant.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Secretary an 
application in such form, and containing such information and 
assurances, as the Secretary may require, including--
            (1) assurances that such State will--
                    (A) provide telephone reassurance services to 
                adults described in such subsection who live in rural 
                or medically underserved communities,
                    (B) at the option of such State, use such grant for 
                data analysis, targeted consumer outreach, improvements 
                to data or technology infrastructure, and impact 
                evaluations, and
                    (C) submit to the Secretary an annual report that 
                excludes personally identifiable information and that 
                identifies--
                            (i) how such grant was expended to assist 
                        such adults and evaluates the overall impact of 
                        such funds, and
                            (ii) how such State will work with public 
                        and private partners to identify and recruit 
                        participants for the telephone reassurance 
                        program, including local referral partners and 
                        services, for further assistance needed for 
                        eligible individuals during phone calls, and
            (2) a report detailing the information described in 
        paragraph (1), with a particular emphasis on how such State 
        will conduct appropriate follow-up or voluntary referrals 
        (excluding personally identifiable information) to assurance 
        calls for such circumstances deemed necessary by the Secretary.
    (c) Voluntary Referral Services.--Voluntary referral services 
pursuant to grants awarded under this section may include services 
provided by the local area agency of aging, nutrition home nutrition 
services under the Older Americans Act of 1965, mental health care 
resources, and other relevant services for such individuals. Except for 
situations in which an individual shows signs of imminent risk of 
suicide and or requires immediate medical attention, all such referrals 
shall be made on a voluntary compliance basis.
    (d) Evaluation.--The Secretary may reserve not more than 1 percent 
of each grant awarded under this section for the purpose of conducting 
a comprehensive, high-quality evaluation of the services provided 
pursuant to grants awarded under this section, including methods or 
technology used to make such calls and input data.
    (e) Use of Funds.--The grant notice shall clarify that funds may be 
used for data analysis, dissemination materials to increase awareness 
of such services, improvements to data or technology infrastructure, 
and impact evaluations.
    (f) Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall submit to the 
        appropriate committees of the Congress an annual report that 
        summarizes the information, received under subsection (b) from 
        participating States and includes--
                    (A) how many adults were served, how often calls 
                were placed and answered, how many voluntary referrals 
                made or connected to other services as needed, and a 
                qualitative review on the substance of such calls and 
                overall satisfaction from such adults, and
                    (B) such additional relevant information the 
                Secretary deems appropriate.
            (2) Exception for personally identifiable information.--The 
        report under paragraph (1) shall not include any personally 
        identifiable information.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``adult'' means an individual more that 18 
        years of age,
            (2) the term ``disability'' has the meaning given it in 
        section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
        U.S.C. 12102),
            (3) the term ``older adult'' means an individual 60 years 
        of age or older, and
            (4) the term ``telephone reassurance services'' means 
        regular and weekly telephone calls placed by volunteers, or 
        employed staff, to older adults, and adults with disabilities, 
        who are at risk of social isolation or loneliness, and do not 
        have supportive assistance.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect October 1, 2024.
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