[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 121 (Friday, September 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10024-S10025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
action yesterday on S. 1972 be vitiated.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
immediately proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.


                           Amendment No. 5203

                (Purpose: To make a technical amendment)

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a technical 
amendment, No. 5203, which is at the desk be considered and agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 5203) was agreed to, as follows:
       On page 2, line 13, insert ``or near'' after ``on''.

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I wish to thank my colleagues for voting 
to adopt S. 1972, a bill to amend the Older Americans Act. S. 1972 
makes technical corrections to the Act to clarify and improve the 
provisions relating to older native Americans.
  Mr. President, many older native Americans have benefited from 
programs authorized under the Older Americans Act. Indian tribes have 
provided much needed home-based care, meals and services to elderly 
tribal members living on Indian reservations and in nearby communities. 
In most cases, older native Americans live in remote and isolated 
communities with little or no access to a grocery store, telephone, 
health care and other important services. Through the Older Americans 
Act, nutrition and support services can be provided to older Native 
Americans in their homes and communities on a daily basis.
  However, many of these services can be strengthened to ensure that 
Indian tribes are able to tailor nutritional and supportive programs to 
the cultural and geographic characteristics of their communities. 
Often, employment and nutrition programs are difficult to administer in 
Indian country because of the remoteness of the service area and the 
unique character of Indian cultures. The changes in S. 1972 will ensure 
that Indian tribes and tribal organizations serving native American 
elders will be afforded maximum flexibility in administering employment 
and nutrition programs to ensure that they are appropriate to the 
unique characteristics of the Indian communities.
  Mr. President, I have proposed a minor technical change to the bill 
as it was reported in the Committee on Indian Affairs. This amendment 
to section 2 of the bill is necessary to clarify that the proposed 
change to the definition of ``reservation'' will not alter any existing 
eligibility for Indians living near an Indian reservation.
  Mr. President, I wish to express my appreciation to Senators Inouye 
and Stevens, who joined me in sponsoring this legislation and my 
colleagues in the Senate who voted to pass S. 1972. This act will bring 
us closer to meeting the goals of the Older Americans Act to ensure 
that older native Americans will continue to benefit from the services 
provided by the act.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
deemed read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1972), as amended, was deemed read the third time and 
passed as follows:

                                S. 1972

       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 ``Older Americans Indian 
     Technical Amendments Act''.

     SEC. 2. INDIAN EMPLOYMENT; DEFINITION OF INDIAN RESERVATION.

       Section 502(b)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3056(b)(1)(B)) 
     is amended to read as follows:
       ``(B)(i) will provide employment for eligible individuals 
     in the community in which such individuals reside, or in 
     nearby communities; or
       ``(ii) if such project is carried out by a tribal 
     organization that enters into an agreement under subsection 
     (b) or receives assistance from a State that enters into such 
     an agreement, will provide employment for such individuals 
     who are Indians residing on or near an Indian reservation, as 
     the term is defined in section 2601(2) of the Energy Policy 
     Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501(2)).''.

     SEC. 3. POPULATION STATISTICS DEVELOPMENT.

       Section 614(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3057e(b)) is amended 
     by striking ``certification'' and inserting ``approval''.

     SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       Section 614(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3057e(c)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(c)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) The Assistant Secretary shall provide waivers and 
     exemptions of the reporting requirements of subsection (a)(3) 
     for applicants that serve Indian populations in 
     geographically isolated areas, or applicants that serve small 
     Indian populations, where the small scale of the project, the 
     nature of the applicant, or other factors make the reporting 
     requirements unreasonable under the circumstances. The 
     Assistant Secretary shall consult with such applicants in 
     establishing appropriate waivers and exemptions.''.

     SEC. 5. EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS FOR NUTRITION SERVICES.

       Section 614(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3057e(c)), as amended 
     by section 4, is further

[[Page S10025]]

     amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) In determining whether an application complies with 
     the requirements of subsection (a)(8), the Assistant 
     Secretary shall provide maximum flexibility to an applicant 
     who seeks to take into account subsistence needs, local 
     customs, and other characteristics that are appropriate to 
     the unique cultural, regional, and geographic needs of the 
     Indian populations to be served.''.

     SEC. 6. COORDINATION OF SERVICES.

       Section 614(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3057e(c)), as amended 
     by section 5, is further amended by adding at the end the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(4) In determining whether an application complies with 
     the requirements of subsection (a)(12), the Assistant 
     Secretary shall require only that an applicant provide an 
     appropriate narrative description of the geographical area to 
     be served and an assurance that procedures will be adopted to 
     ensure against duplicate services being provided to the same 
     recipients.''.

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