[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2861-S2863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GREGG (for himself and Mrs. Kassebaum):
  S. 1643. A bill to amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal years 1997 through 2001, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

[[Page S2862]]

               the older americans act amendments of 1996

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Older 
Americans Act Amendments of 1996. This important law recently saw its 
30th anniversary, and I believe it is the type of legislation that we 
should have more of in this country; it is a bill that is designed to 
help our senior citizens help themselves. This is a bill that focuses 
on meeting the needs of senior citizens in ways that will promote their 
well-being and independence. Through a variety of supportive programs--
from providing meals that are both home-delivered and served in 
congregate settings, to subsidizing seniors' income through an 
employment and training program, to facilitating information, case 
management, and referral services so that all available services to 
seniors can be coordinated and maximized--this bill works to ensure the 
system works for our older Americans.
  This bill essentially takes what has become an overly complicated, 
prescriptive law and streamlines it, turns significant amounts of 
authority over to the States, encourages a bottoms-up planning process, 
and allows programs and services to be tailored to meet actual--rather 
than perceived--social and economic needs. This legislation will 
provide maximum authority and flexibility to States and localities in 
the design and operation of their services for seniors, while 
protecting the integrity of a number of priority programs--including 
outreach and counseling programs, the long-term care ombudsman, 
preventive health efforts, elder abuse prevention, and legal assistance 
services.
  The bill drives more money into the delivery of those services most 
needed in States and local communities through sound economic 
principles. Throughout this bill, a ``bottoms-up'' planning process is 
facilitated; this means actual needs will be met on the local level, 
rather than what we perceive the needs to be from our distant vantage 
point here in Washington. It is clear from a myriad of other programs 
that we fund and that have failed that Washington does not always know 
best. We must ensure that we don't drag this program down under a 
father-knows-best mentality.
  This is not a welfare bill. It is not legislation that is designed to 
only meet the needs of specific populations or address specific 
problems. Instead, the Older Americans Act is a continuum of programs 
which have been structured to respond to everything from economic 
needs, to physical and transportation problems, to answering 
individuals' social requirements. All of our seniors should have the 
opportunity for a nutritious meal, or to get other assistance when they 
need it; this bill facilitates their access to these kinds of services.
  This has never been considered a partisan piece of legislation, and 
Senator Kassebaum and I have worked hard, along with Senator Mikulski 
who is the ranking member on the Aging Subcommittee, to ensure that it 
remains bipartisan. That is not to say that concerns on both sides of 
the aisle were not fully explored. The goal has been to achieve the 
strongest policy possible, and in doing so, meet the concerns of all of 
our colleagues.
  A concerted effort has been made to maintain an atmosphere of 
collegiality and consensus. For the Republican members of the Labor 
Committee, this has meant a willingness to recognize the value of a 
particular policy in cases where we would have made other decisions 
based on our general philosophy. In addition, we have taken a great 
deal of time and effort to listen to and consult with interested groups 
who are part of the aging network. We have extended an open-door policy 
to anyone who expressed an interest in sharing their views and 
exchanging ideas in a constructive environment. We responded to what we 
heard; for example, we have retained the Eldercare Locator Service, a 
program which allows family members to find services for their loved 
ones, even if they are in a different part of the country. We retained 
a separate line-item of funding for the long-term-care ombudsman 
program, after hearing repeatedly of its significance in States across 
the Nation.
  The bill I am introducing here today, along with my colleague from 
Kansas and the Chairman of our Committee, Senator Kassebaum, is a 
result of that process over the last year. It contains policy that was 
structured in response to excellent witnesses who testified both before 
our subcommittee and the House. These individuals brought their unique, 
grassroots perspective from the trenches to us here in Washington. 
Their comments had a tremendous value in this process, as their issues 
are real, not perceived. One provision we adopted on their advice was, 
for example, to permit States to institute cost-sharing provisions; 
however, we have ensured that these provisions will not prevent any 
senior from receiving services due to an inability to pay.
  This bill responds to concerns and questions that were posed after we 
circulated a legislative proposal last December. It also incorporates a 
number of items raised by the administration and the Democratic members 
of the Labor Committee, both technical and substantive. These include: 
Retaining authority for the Assistant Secretary to make grants for 
preventive health activities, with priority given to medically 
underserved areas and locations with the greatest economic need; 
definition of low income at 150 percent of the Federal poverty line; 
and mandated State planning requirements for legal assistance and 
insurance-public benefit counseling.

  The overall structure of this bill has also been changed. Like a 
house that had numerous additions over the years, the Older Americans 
Act had become disjointed. We have corrected that, restructuring the 
act so that it is logically based on service and oversight 
responsibilities, as opposed to program by program, fractionalized by 
seven titles. The four titles of this bill include one for Federal 
functions, one for State responsibilities, one for Area Agency on Aging 
authorities, and one title for native American programs.
  This bill maximizes flexibility for service delivery at the State and 
local level, while still retaining protections over priority services, 
such as outreach and counseling, long-term care ombudsmen, and case 
management. The bill also rationalizes the funding formulas for both 
nutrition and supportive services as well as SCSEP, the Senior 
Community Service Employment Program. This is important because we must 
direct our limited Federal resources to where a real need exists. We 
must also be planning now for the future, and ensure that legislation 
that we pass today will be structured to respond to the needs of 
tomorrow and the 21st century.
  In addition, we have directed funds to the administration, States, 
and localities as required for the purpose of administering these 
programs. While important functions are carried out with administrative 
dollars, when faced with a choice between administration and service, 
we have opted to meet the needs of our seniors wherever we can. To 
further promote quality service delivery, we have eliminated the 
artificial funding wall between home-delivered and congregate meals 
programs. We have also increased the transfer authority between 
nutrition programs and supportive services, which funds items such as 
transportation, in-home assistance, health screening and education, 
health insurance benefit options, crime prevention, and work on 
multipurpose senior center facilities.
  This bill retains the authority and authorizes funding of research 
and demonstration grants in order to encourage innovative approaches to 
the delivery of the critical services provided for under this act. 
While, again, there is a limit on the number of dollars that can be 
provided for such activities, we also have seen some excellent programs 
emerge from these projects, and have attempted to find a way to 
continue them.
  We maintained a number of provisions to protect the quality of the 
long-term-care ombudsman offices in each State by clarifying the 
minimal criteria for eligibility and providing conflict-of-interest 
safeguards. This bill ensures that particular attention continues to be 
paid to the needs of the minority elderly population. In addition, the 
legislation permits States to institute cost-sharing requirements as 
they see necessary under a self-declaration-of-income standard. 
Confidentiality standards are provided, and there is language which 
ensures that no one will be denied services due to an inability to pay.
  It is time to reexamine the status quo for all Federal programs and 
make

[[Page S2863]]

improvements where necessary. And I think we have made an excellent 
start with this bill, the Older Americans Act. Again, I would like to 
thank Senators Kassebaum and Mikulski for their efforts on this bill. I 
believe the bill will allow seniors across the country to remain 
healthy, living in their own homes in their community, and supported in 
their endeavors to stay independent. And this bill does all of this by 
striving to maximize public-private partnership to supplement the 
limited Federal funds available--encouraging the Federal dollars to be 
used to leverage private funding, and by allowing priorities to be set 
at the grassroots level whenever possible.
  Mrs. KASSEBAUM. Mr. President, I rise today as an original cosponsor 
of legislation to reauthorize the Older Americans Act of 1965. I am 
pleased that Senator Gregg has taken the lead in drafting a bill that 
grants States and local communities the authority and flexibility to 
tailor programs to best fit the needs of their aging citizens.
  The original Older Americans Act was passed in 1965 with the 
intention of using joint Federal and State funds to provide a range of 
services for elder Americans. Since that time, the act has evolved into 
a comprehensive list of programs and services--ranging from legal and 
counseling services to transportation and employment services to, 
perhaps most importantly, nutrition services.
  Every day thousands of seniors gather at congregate meal sites to 
obtain nutrition services, as well as enjoy the companionship these 
sites offer. Often, a nutrition site will serve as the point of entry 
for seniors to gain knowledge of other services available to them 
through their local communities or their area agency on aging. The 
congregate meal sites serve as a valuable socialization too, as well as 
often providing the only nutritious meal of the day for many seniors.
  Through changes in the Older Americans Act, this legislation will 
provide maximum authority and flexibility to States and localities in 
the design and operation of their services for seniors, while 
protecting the integrity of certain priority programs including: 
outreach and counseling programs, case management, the long-term-care 
ombudsman, preventive health efforts, and elder abuse prevention 
programs. Mr. President, each State has very different needs. This bill 
allows each State to craft programs to fit their individual 
communities.
  In addition, this proposal strives to maximize public-private 
partnership, recognizing that the Federal Government is not able to 
meet all the needs that exist among this growing population, but that 
Federal funds can form a basis of support for leveraging private 
dollars. Also important, I believe, is the retention of the authority 
and funding for research and demonstration projects which encourage the 
development of innovative approaches to the delivery of critical 
services for seniors.
  As the population continues to age and as needs change, more pressure 
will be placed on providers to make sure that essential needs of the 
elderly are met. I am hopeful that our efforts will lead to a system of 
senior services that are not only more consumer driven but are also 
better designed to offer support to seniors in their endeavors to 
remain healthy and independent.
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