[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H5274-H5275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REAUTHORIZATION OF THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and increased funding for 
the Older Americans Act programs.
  These programs, like Meals on Wheels, Senior Employment Service, 
Elder Abuse Prevention, they work. They help meet a critical need in a

[[Page H5275]]

cost-effective fashion. The OAA helps seniors help themselves and 
provides a host of necessary services.
  Let us use Meals on Wheels for example. The last numbers we have are 
from 1995. They show that this program fed 2.4 million people 127 
million meals, with about $470 million. What that works out to is less 
than $4 a meal. That is delivered to their home, and that is about half 
of that senior's daily food supply.
  Mr. Speaker, 41 percent of Meals on Wheels programs have waiting 
lists, meaning a lot of seniors are not having their needs met with the 
current level of funding.
  Without Meals on Wheels and the volunteers who help run it so cheaply 
and efficiently, millions of seniors would be forced to leave their own 
homes for nursing homes. That is not good for them and it is not good 
for us. Or worse, they would go hungry. But we do not need this as an 
example. We know this is a successful program.
  I have worked with and talked to hundreds and hundreds of these 
volunteers who are out there volunteering every day helping other 
seniors. It is a program that works. It is a program that is so 
efficient, I cannot believe we have not increased the funding for this 
or reauthorized it.
  We have thousands and thousands and thousands of volunteers across 
this country. Just in one senior center in one tiny part of my 
district, there are over 800 volunteers that work in programs that are 
authorized under the Older Americans Act. Multiply those in my district 
many times over, and then in the State, and across the Nation, and we 
have thousands.
  But a successful program is one that is continually updated in order 
to work efficiently. We would not buy a car and never put gasoline in 
it. We would not buy a computer and not buy software for it. So why 
would we as a government allow a program like the Older Americans Act 
to go on and on without revising and improving its functions?
  We knew in the last Congress there were some problems with the 
current act. We knew there were some programs that would work more 
effectively if streamlined and coordinated on the local level. We knew 
there was an increasing demand on this act to deal with the concerns of 
the expanding senior population. We knew it was in our best interest to 
continue to support the programs that successfully allow seniors to 
live independently, healthy and productive lives. We still know all of 
those things. Now it is time to act on that knowledge.
  The longer we put off action on this matter, the more endangered 
those precious services become. An increase in the Older Americans Act 
funding is also essential in order to accommodate the additional 
individuals and responsibility that come under its care.
  If we do not increase the funding now, we cripple OAA's ability to 
respond to our senior needs just as we enter these baby boom years. OAA 
funding has not even dealt with inflation nor the number of seniors 
coming or its expanding duties. Without an increase in funding, we 
cannot expect to continue to provide the services that we value in our 
communities in the years ahead.
  We must look toward reauthorization as a chance to make needed 
changes in the Older Americans Act. It is a chance to streamline 
programs and make what is already government's most cost-effective 
programs even more efficient.
  We can also direct the resources toward current and new programs that 
they desire most. These adjustments are critical. We cannot afford to 
wait any longer. We have a responsibility to the seniors of this Nation 
and to the communities that benefit from the programs like Meals on 
Wheels, long-term care advocates, and elder abuse prevention that the 
OAA provides.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to reauthorize the Older Americans Act and 
turn our knowledge into action.

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