[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 151 (Tuesday, November 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12847-S12849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Smith, and Mr. 
        Kohl):
  S. 2010. A bill to amend the Social Security Act to enhance the 
Social Security of the Nation by ensuring adequate public-private 
infrastructure and to resolve to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, 
and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, with my good friend and colleague, Senator 
Blanche Lincoln, I rise to introduce the Elder Justice Act of 2005. We 
are joined in this effort by Senator Gordon Smith, the chairman of the 
Aging Committee, and Senator Herb Kohl, the ranking minority member of 
that committee.
  As my colleagues may recall, Senator John Breaux and I introduced 
similar legislation in both the 107th and 108th Congresses, with the 
strong support of Senators Lincoln, Smith and Kohl. The bill was 
reported by the Finance Committee last year, but unfortunately it was 
not approved before we adjourned.
  Although the number of older Americans is growing at a rapid pace, 
thousands of cases of elder abuse go unaddressed every day. The problem 
of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation has long been invisible and is 
probably one of the most serious issues facing seniors and their 
families.
  Research in the field is scarce, but, by some estimates, up to five 
million cases of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation occur each year. 
Without more attention and more resources, far too many of these cases 
of abuse, neglect and exploitation will go unaddressed and far too many 
older Americans will suffer.
  Few pressing social issues have been as systematically ignored as 
elder abuse. In fact, 25 years of congressional hearings on the 
devastating effects of elder abuse have found this problem to be a 
``disgrace'' and a ``burgeoning national scandal.'' Yet, to date, no 
federal legislation has been enacted to address elder abuse in a 
comprehensive manner.
  During that same time period, Congress passed comprehensive bills to 
address child abuse and crimes against women, yet there is not one 
full-time Federal employee working on elder abuse in the entire Federal 
Government.
  The cost of elder abuse is high. This is true in terms of needless 
human suffering, inflated health care costs, limited Federal resources 
and the loss of one of our greatest national assets--the wisdom and 
experience of older citizens.
  S. 2010 is designed to create a national focus on elder abuse to 
increase detection, prevention, prosecution and victim assistance. It 
ensures that states, communities, consumers and families will have 
access to the information and resources they need to confront this 
difficult issue.
  By addressing law enforcement, social service and public health 
concerns, our bill uses the proven approach Congress has adopted to 
combat child abuse and violence against women.
  I would like to take this opportunity to describe our legislation in 
more detail.
  The Elder Justice Act establishes dual Offices of Elder Justice at 
the Departments of Justice, DOJ, and Health and Human Services, HHS, to 
coordinate Federal, State and local efforts to combat elder abuse in 
residential and institutional settings. In addition, an Elder Justice 
Coordinating Council will be established to make recommendations to the 
HHS Secretary and the Attorney General on coordinating activities of 
Federal agencies related to elder abuse. This Council is specifically 
mandated to advise us on legislation, model laws and other appropriate 
action on addressing elder abuse.
  The bill creates an Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect and 
Exploitation to establish a short-term and long-term multi-disciplinary 
strategic plan for expanding the field of elder justice. The board 
would make recommendations to HHS, DOJ, and the Elder Justice 
Coordinating Council and submit to HHS, DOJ, and Congress information 
and recommendations on elder justice programs, activities and 
legislation.
  The Elder Justice Act also directs the HHS Secretary to establish an 
Elder Resource Center to develop ways to collect, maintain and 
disseminate information relevant to consumers, families and providers 
in order to protect individuals from elder abuse and neglect. It is our 
hope that this Center will improve the quality, quantity and 
accessibility of information available on elder abuse. In addition, the 
bill establishes a National Elder Justice Library within the Center to 
serve as a centralized repository for materials on training, technical 
assistance and promising practices related to elder justice.
  S. 2010 also improves, streamlines and promotes uniform collection 
and dissemination of national data related to elder abuse, neglect and 
exploitation. Today, data on elder abuse are very limited. The Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, is directed to 
develop a method for collecting national data regarding elder abuse and 
then create uniform national data reporting forms to help determine 
what a reportable event on elder abuse is.
  The legislation includes several grants to combat elder abuse 
including grants to improve data collection activities on elder abuse 
prevention and prosecution of elder abuse cases. These grants would 
establish five Centers of Excellence nationwide to specialize in 
research, clinical practice and training related to elder abuse.
  In addition, the HHS Secretary will award safe haven grants to six 
diverse communities to examine elder shelters to test various models 
for establishing safe havens. Elder victims' needs, which are rarely 
addressed, will be better met by supporting the creation of safe havens 
for seniors who are not safe where they live. Development of safe haven 
programs which focus on the special needs of at-risk elders and older 
victims are needed and necessary.
  The legislation directs the HHS Secretary to award training grants to 
groups with responsibility for elder justice, eligible entities to 
provide care for those with dementia and certain entities to make 
recommendations on caring for underserved populations of seniors living 
in rural areas, minority populations, and Indian tribes. Training to 
combat elder abuse, neglect and exploitation will be supported both 
within individual disciplines and in multi-disciplines such as public 
health, social service and law enforcement settings.
  In addition, our bill directs the Secretary to award fellowships to 
individuals so they may obtain training in both forensic pathology and 
geriatrics. An individual receiving such a fellowship shall provide 
training in forensic geriatrics to interdisciplinary teams of health 
care professionals. Grants also would be awarded to create programs to 
increase the number of health care professionals with geriatric 
training. Finally, the Elder Justice Act directs the HHS Secretary to 
award grants to conduct a national multimedia campaign to raise 
awareness on elder abuse.
  Our legislation also requires a number of studies on elder abuse 
including one on the responsibilities of federal,

[[Page S12848]]

state and local governments in response to reports of elder abuse. This 
study would be to improve response time to elder abuse and reduce elder 
victimization.
  In addition, the CDC Director is directed to conduct a study on the 
best method to address elder abuse from a public health perspective, 
including reducing elder abuse, neglect and exploitation committed by 
family members. Current statistics indicate that only 20 percent of 
elder abuse occurs in long-term care facilities and institutions--80 
percent of elder abuse is committed in the home.
  The bill also establishes new programs to assist victims and provides 
grants for education and training of law enforcement and prosecutors. 
It requires reporting of crimes in long-term care settings, creates a 
national criminal background check program for those employed by long-
term care providers--something strongly advocated by Senator Kohl--and 
establishes a national nurse aide registry program based on 
recommendations by HHS.
  Senior citizens cannot wait any longer for this legislation to pass.
  More and more of us will enjoy longer life in relative health, but 
with this gift comes the responsibility to prevent the needless 
suffering too often borne by our frailest seniors.
  In closing, I must note that our legislation has been endorsed by the 
Elder Justice Coalition, a national membership organization dedicated 
to eliminating elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation in America. This 
coalition, which has been a strong advocate and supporter of the Elder 
Justice Act, has 397 members.
  This Congress, one of my top priorities is to get this bill signed 
into law, once and for all, so that elder justice will become a reality 
for those Americans who need it most. Our seniors deserve no less.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my distinguished 
colleague, Senator Hatch, to introduce the Elder Justice Act of 2005. I 
am pleased that Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Smith and 
Ranking Member Kohl are joining us as original cosponsors of this 
important legislation.
  I have been a cosponsor of the Elder Justice Act since Senator Breaux 
and Senator Hatch introduced the original bill in 2002. I joined them 
again as a cosponsor in 2003 and helped pass a version of the 
legislation out of the Senate Finance Committee in late 2004.
  Unfortunately and regrettably, the Elder Justice Act failed to become 
law last year, despite the incredible leadership by Senator Breaux and 
Senator Hatch. It has yet to become law despite the fact that our 
Nation continues to grow older and despite the fact that the tragedy of 
elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation continues.
  Abuse of our senior citizens can be physical, sexual, psychological, 
or financial. The perpetrator may be a stranger, an acquaintance, a 
paid caregiver, a corporation, and sadly, even a spouse or another 
family member. Elder abuse happens everywhere, at all levels of income 
and in all geographic areas. No matter how rich you are, and no matter 
where you live, no one is immune.
  Congress must make our seniors a priority and pass the Elder Justice 
Act as soon as possible.
  This bill represents the culmination of 25 years of congressional 
hearings on the distressing effects of elder abuse. It represents a 
consensus agreement developed by the Elder Justice Coalition, a 
national organization dedicated to eliminating elder abuse, neglect, 
and exploitation in America. This bill reminds us of the fact that 
Congress has already passed comprehensive bills to address child abuse 
and violence against women but has continued to ignore the fact that we 
have no Federal law enacted to date on elder abuse.
  Every older person has the right to be free of abuse, neglect, and 
exploitation. And the Elder Justice Act will enhance our knowledge 
about abuse of our seniors in all its terrible forms. It will elevate 
elder abuse to the national stage. Too many of our seniors suffer 
needlessly. Each year, anywhere between 500,000 and 5 million seniors 
in our country are abused, neglected, or exploited. And, sadly, most 
abuse goes unreported.
  This historical problem will only get worse as 77 million baby 
boomers age.
  The Elder Justice Act confronts elder abuse in the same ways we 
combat child abuse and violence against women: through law enforcement, 
public health programs, and social services at all levels of 
government. It also establishes research projects to assist in the 
development of future legislation.
  The Elder Justice Act will take steps to make older Americans safer 
in their homes, nursing home facilities, and neighborhoods. It enhances 
detection of elder abuse and helps seniors recover from abuse after it 
starts. It increases collaboration between federal agencies and between 
Federal, State, local, and private entities, law enforcement, longterm 
care facilities, consumer advocates, and families to prevent and treat 
elder abuse.
  Each of us will grow older, and if we're lucky, we will live for a 
very long time. A baby girl born today has a 50 percent chance of 
living until she is 100 years old. What will we gain if we fail to 
ensure that baby girl ages with dignity, free of abuse, neglect, and 
exploitation? As Hubert Humphrey said, ``The moral test of government 
is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the 
children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those 
who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the 
handicapped.''
  It is time for Congress to pass the first comprehensive federal law 
to address elder abuse, the Elder Justice Act of 2005, to ensure that 
those in the twilight of life are protected from abuse that threatens 
their safety, independence, and productivity.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Elder Justice Act.
  My job as a Senator is to help protect and defend the freedoms of all 
Americans. As the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee it is an 
expressed duty of mine to focus on one of our more vulnerable 
populations, older Americans.
  All too often we concentrate our efforts to stop crime on crimes that 
are reported or easy to identify. However, crimes against the elderly 
are often never reported or identified. Many older Americans find 
themselves reliant on a caregiver or close one who is taking advantage 
of them physically or monetarily and have no means to take action 
against this individual. This scary and sad scenario happens more often 
then we would like to admit.
  According to the best available estimates, between 1 and 2 million 
Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise 
mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection. Too 
many older Americans suffer from the various forms of abuse and the 
legislation we are introducing today will take very important steps to 
stop the long ignored problem of elder abuse. The Elder Justice Act 
prevents and treats elder abuse by:
  Improving prevention and intervention through funding projects to 
make older Americans safer in their homes, facilities, and 
neighborhoods. The bill specifically enhances long-term care staffing.
  Creating forensic centers and targeting funding to develop expertise 
in the detection of signs of elder abuse.
  Targeting funding to efforts to better find ways to mitigate the 
consequences of elder mistreatment.
  Enhancing collaboration by supporting coordination between federal 
and local entities including consumer advocates, long-term care 
facilities and most importantly families.
  My home state of Oregon has been a leader in many of these efforts. 
One program, the Elder Safe program IN Washington County, helps victims 
aged 65 and older after a crime is reported to police and continues to 
help them through the criminal justice system. Based at the Sheriff's 
Office, Elder Safe collaborates with the District Attorney's Office and 
the Department of Aging and Veterans' Services and all city police 
department to coordinate services to help seniors read legal documents 
or travel to the courthouse. Assistance from the Elder Safe program is 
tailored to the unique circumstance of each victim and may include 
personal support, court advocacy, or help filling out forms. It is 
important that we support programs, like the Elder Safe program, 
nationally. The Elder Justice Act will be a huge boost to our efforts. 
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this 
important bill.

[[Page S12849]]

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the Elder 
Justice Act. I applaud the leadership and commitment that Senator Hatch 
and Senator Lincoln have shown to protecting our Nation's senior 
citizens by reintroducing this legislation. As Ranking Member of the 
Special Committee on Aging, I am pleased to join Senator Smith, our 
Chairman, as an original cosponsor of this important bill.
  I also want to commend the bipartisan Elder Justice Coalition for its 
role in developing and moving this bill forward. In particular, I would 
like to acknowledge the contributions of Wisconsin members of the 
Coalition, including the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, the 
Wisconsin Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the Wisconsin 
Board on Aging and Long Term Care, among many others. Passage of the 
Elder Justice Act is long overdue, and we look forward to working with 
the Coalition to ensure that it becomes law as soon as possible.
  In the past forty years, our Nation has made great strides to address 
the ugly truth of child abuse and domestic violence in our society. We 
have made a difference by making comprehensive legislation designed to 
combat these terrible issues a top priority. Today, I ask the Congress 
to once again focus on the issue of abuse only this time, to focus on 
the grim reality of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
  For the past 25 years, Congress has held hearings on the devastating 
effects of elder abuse; yet no comprehensive action has been taken. 
Abuse of the elderly is certainly nothing new, but as our Nation has 
aged and the Baby Boom generation stands on the cusp of retirement, the 
prevalence of elder abuse will only get worse. The time to act is now. 
The shame and scandal of abuse, neglect and exploitation of our 
Nation's seniors can no longer be ignored or tolerated.
  I am pleased that the Elder Justice Act includes one of my top 
priorities--a provision mandating a national criminal background check 
system for nursing home, home health and other long-term care 
employees. While the vast majority of employees are hardworking, 
dedicated and professional, it is simply too easy for people with 
abusive and criminal backgrounds to find work in long term care.
  Today, seven States, including my home State of Wisconsin, are 
engaged in a pilot project to require FBI criminal background checks 
before hiring a new employee. The Elder Justice Act will ensure that 
once the pilot is over, we will move to a national criminal background 
check system so seniors in all fifty states will be protected. I want 
to thank Senators Hatch and Lincoln and their staff for working with me 
to once again include this provision as a key part of the Elder Justice 
Act. I very much appreciate their efforts and look forward to working 
with them to see that it becomes law.
  In addition to the background check provision, the Elder Justice Act 
takes a number of steps to prevent and treat elder abuse. First, it 
will improve prevention and intervention by funding State and local 
projects that keep older Americans safe.
  Second, it will improve collaboration by bringing together a variety 
of different Federal, State, local, and private entities to address 
elder abuse. The bill ensures that health officials, social services, 
law enforcement, long-term care facilities, consumer advocates and 
families are all working together to confront this problem.
  Third, it will develop expertise to better detect elder abuse, 
neglect and exploitation, by training health professionals in both 
forensic pathology and geriatrics.
  Fourth, it will develop victim assistance programs for at-risk 
seniors and create ``safe havens'' for seniors who are not safe where 
they live.
  Finally, it will give extra resources to law enforcement officials to 
investigate cases of elder abuse and make them a top priority.
  Once again, I thank Senators Hatch and Lincoln for bringing the issue 
of elder abuse to the forefront by re-introducing this important 
legislation. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting it.
                                 ______