[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 55 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4209-S4210]
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. 1070. 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 colleagues, Senator Blanche 
Lincoln, Senator Gordon Smith and Senator Herb Kohl, I rise to 
introduce the Elder Justice Act of 2007.
  Senators Lincoln, Smith, Kohl and I introduced similar legislation 
last Congress and former Senator John Breaux and I were the lead 
sponsors of the Elder Justice Act in the 107th and 108th Congresses, 
with the strong support of Senators Lincoln, Smith and Kohl. While the 
legislation has been reported unanimously by the Finance Committee in 
the 109th and 108th Congresses, it, unfortunately, has not become law. 
I am here to say that will not be the case this Congress.
  I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the provision of 
the Elder Justice Act. This legislation establishes an Elder Justice 
Coordinating Council to make recommendations to the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services on the coordination of activities of the Federal, 
State, local and private agencies and entities relating to elder abuse, 
neglect and exploitation. It also provides a first time direct funding 
stream separate from the Social Services Block Grant for adult 
protective services. In addition, the Elder Justice Act creates an 
advisory board to create a short and long-term multidisciplinary 
strategic plan for the developing field of elder justice.
  The legislation creates new forensic centers to promote detection and 
increase expertise--new programs will train health professionals in 
both forensic pathology and geriatrics. The bill also authorizes $10 
million for national organizations or States that represent or train 
long-term care ombudsman representatives to provide training, technical 
assistance, demonstration programs and research to improve ombudsman 
effectiveness in addressing abuse and neglect in nursing homes and 
assisted living facilities.
  In addition, the Elder Justice Act requires immediate reporting to 
law enforcement of crimes in a long-term care facility. It also allows 
the seven State demonstration projects authorized through the Medicare 
Modernization Act of 2003 to be completed and directs the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to report the findings to the appropriate 
congressional committees no later than six months after the completion 
of the demonstration projects. The bill also authorizes $500,000 to 
determine the efficacy of establishing and maintaining a national nurse 
aide registry. Finally, the legislation authorizes $20 million in 
grants to enhance long-term care staffing through training and 
recruitment to establish employee incentives including career and wage 
benefit ladders and programs to improve management practices.
  With more than 77 million baby boomers retiring over the next three 
decades, we cannot wait any longer for this legislation to pass. One of 
my top priorities of the 110th Congress is having the Elder Justice Act 
signed into law. Older Americans deserve nothing less.
  In closing, 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 over 500 members.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation so we can provide 
older Americans the same protections that we provide to our children 
and victims of domestic violence.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the 
Elder Justice Act of 2007. As in previous Congresses, I am an original 
cosponsor and fully support the bill's goals and passage. I want to 
thank Senators Hatch,

[[Page S4210]]

Lincoln and Smith for their continued leadership to make sure that our 
Nation finally acts in a comprehensive way to prevent elder abuse.
  Our Nation has for far too long turned its back on the shame of elder 
abuse. Congress has held hearings on the devastating effects of elder 
abuse for a quarter of a century. With this bill, we are finally saying 
enough is enough--elder abuse is unacceptable and we are going to act 
to stop it.
  This bill takes several important steps to make improvements to what 
is now an inadequate system of protection for our vulnerable elders. 
First, it boosts funding for the long-term care ombudsman program, 
which serves as an advocate for the elderly and disabled in long-term 
care. It also establishes an adult protective services grant program 
and forensics centers that are charged with developing expertise on 
elder abuse. In addition, it elevates the importance of elder justice 
issues by creating a coordinating council of Federal agencies that will 
make policy recommendations and submit reports to Congress every 2 
years. And the legislation requires the Departments of Labor and Health 
and Human Services to take a proactive role in funding initiatives 
aimed at improving training programs and working conditions for long-
term care professionals as a strategy for increasing the number of such 
workers during the coming years.
  As much as I support this bill, however, I am disappointed that it 
does not include one important policy that can prevent abuse--a common-
sense background check system that can screen out potential workers 
with serious criminal convictions that may put fragile seniors in long-
term care at risk.
  Almost every day, we read terrible stories about elderly patients who 
are beaten, sexually assaulted, or robbed by the very people who are 
charged with their care. Research shows that many instances of elder 
abuse could be avoided by a simple background check. It is time to put 
in place a nationwide system that can detect and prevent elder abuse. 
The seven-State pilot program that began in 2003 is an excellent start. 
Already, it is showing that States can successfully implement 
comprehensive, cost-effective programs that consolidate checks from 
State registries, State criminal records, and FBI records. In the 
coming weeks, I plan to introduce legislation that will take steps to 
make these pilot programs a reality for all States. I hope my 
colleagues will join me in this effort.
  Again, I want to thank Senators Hatch, Lincoln, and Smith for their 
commitment to the cause of elder justice. The legislation we are 
introducing today will go a long way to focusing more attention on 
solutions for elder abuse, and developing new approaches to improve the 
quality of long-term care.
                                 ______