[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 64 (Tuesday, May 19, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REAUTHORIZE THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT NOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 1 minute.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand a sampling of hundreds 
of plates that I have received from senior citizens in my district when 
I visited them at centers or they have mailed them to me. The plates 
make a point. They are really about the reauthorization of the Older 
Americans Act. This act has not been reauthorized now for more than 2 
years.
  For 30 years, this act has provided the provisions for food, for 
health care and for a number of services that are very, very important 
to senior citizens. It allows them to have a quality of life in their 
homes, without which they would not have.
  So I urge our colleagues, during the month of May, which is Senior 
Citizens Month, to make sure that they consider the reauthorization of 
the Older Americans Act.
  We should not be feeding our senior citizens on paper plates. We 
really should be feeding them on fine China, because they have given 
their life for the betterment of their communities.

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