[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4430-S4431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ELDER JUSTICE ACT

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, since May is a month to honor and recognize 
older Americans, I would like to take a few minutes to talk about my 
strong commitment to having the Elder Justice Act, S. 1070, approved by 
Congress and signed into law before the conclusion of the 110th 
Congress.
  Emily Dickinson once said, old age comes on suddenly, and not 
gradually as is thought. As someone who just celebrated a birthday a 
few months ago, this statement has never seemed more accurate!
  Approximately 44 million people in this country are age 60 and above 
which tells me that caring for older Americans must be a high priority 
of future Congresses.
  In fact, U.S. citizens 60 years of age and above will increase 
dramatically over the next 30 years more than 76 million baby boomers 
will be approaching retirement and old age over the next three decades. 
Let me say that one more time--more than 76 million baby boomers will 
be approaching retirement and old age over the next three decades.
  Earlier this Congress, Senators Lincoln, Smith, Kohl and I introduced 
the Elder Justice Act. Congressmen Rahm Emanuel and Peter King 
introduced a nearly identical bill in the House. Currently, the Senate 
bill has 28 cosponsors and the House bill has 113 cosponsors.
  One person who really deserves a lot of the credit for this bill is 
our former colleague from Louisiana, Senator John Breaux. He got the 
ball rolling over here in the Senate. I will never forget him coming to 
me way back in the 107th Congress and telling me that I needed to work 
with him on the Elder Justice Act because it would make a tremendous 
difference for older Americans throughout the country. He and I 
introduced the Elder Justice Act back in the 107th Congress and ever 
since then, the bill has been reintroduced each subsequent Congress.
  I also want to acknowledge the fine work of the Elder Justice 
Coalition, led by Bob Blancato, its national coordinator.
  To date, the Elder Justice Coalition has close to 550 members and has 
done an incredible job advocating for the passage of this legislation.
  This Congress, for the first time, the Elder Justice Act has been 
seriously considered by the House. Last week, the House Judiciary 
Committee considered the Elder Justice Act and it appears that it will 
be voted out of that committee this week. In the Senate, the 
legislation has been reported unanimously by the Finance Committee in 
both the 109th and 108th Congress; however, it has never been approved 
by the full Senate. As far as I am concerned, this year is going to be 
different. I will do everything in my power to ensure that this 
legislation will pass the Senate and be signed into law before the 
110th Congress adjourns.
  Senator Lincoln and I are going to work with Finance Committee 
Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley to schedule a 
markup on this bill sometime this summer.
  Over the past couple of years, I worked very closely with Health and 
Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and his staff to address the 
concerns that the administration has raised regarding our bill. Last 
Congress, I felt like we had some fruitful discussions and progress was 
made. Secretary Leavitt is a good friend of mine and he knows how 
important it is to me, Senator Lincoln and senior citizens across the 
country to have this legislation signed into law. The Secretary assured 
me that he and his staff would continue to work with us on this bill.
  So I intend to initiate discussions with the administration once 
again in the hope that we will be able to come to agreement. And I 
think we are very close.
  I have had many ask why does there appear to be such a dramatic 
increase in elder abuse in the United States. Because there is so 
little data on elder abuse, it is difficult to know the answer to that 
question.
  Quite honestly, I believe that more and more people are taking 
notice.
  In the past, there has been no data collection of elder abuse--I find 
that quite disturbing. The purpose of our legislation is to make 
changes in the law so we have more precise numbers on how many seniors 
are being exploited financially, being neglected or being physically or 
mentally abused.
  Findings from the often cited National Elder Abuse Incidence Study 
suggest that more than 500,000 Americans aged 60 and above were victims 
of domestic abuse in 1996. Studies show the amount of Federal dollars 
spent on abuse and neglect of elders is substantially smaller than that 
spent on child and domestic abuse.
  Elder abuse is a profoundly personal tragedy for its victims--let me 
cite a case from my home state of Utah. In Utah and across the country, 
elderly Americans are being exploited and essentially being swindled 
out of thousands of dollars. A local news station in Salt Lake recently 
had a story that discussed check scams and how seniors are typically 
the target of these questionable operations.
  In Utah alone, the money that people have lost due to these types of 
scams has quadrupled over the last 3 years. And while many of these 
operations have addresses in the U.S., they typically originate 
overseas.
  For example, a check has been made out to a Salt Lake City senior for 
close to $4,000. The senior is told that he has been chosen to be a 
secret shopper and has the chance to win thousands of dollars. He is 
told that he may keep $500, no strings attached, but he must wire more 
than $3,000 back to them in order to get the $500. Because this senior 
sees the chance to win $500, he sends the check for $3,000 and loses 
all of his money.
  According to the postal inspector, once a person responds to these 
scams, he or she is put on what is called a sucker's list and continues 
to be promised that hundreds and even thousands of dollars could be 
gained if a check is sent. In Utah, 6 to 700 checks are reported to be 
sent to these organizations each month.
  The Elder Justice Act would help the Federal Government collect data 
on how many senior citizens are being financially exploited, mentally 
and physically abused and neglected.
  This chart illustrates the dramatic difference in dollars spent on 
elder abuse compared to child abuse and domestic abuse.
  Ninety-one percent, or $6.7 billion, is spent on child abuse, 7 
percent, or $520 million on domestic abuse and only 2 percent, or 
$153.5 million, is spent on elder abuse. Considering the high numbers 
of the population above age 60, it astounds me the small percentage the 
Government is willing to dedicate to ending elder abuse.
  The Elder Justice Act aims to address this serious problem.
  Our bill would provide Federal resources to support State and 
community efforts on the front lines dedicated to fighting elder abuse 
with scarce resources and fragmented systems.
  It directs the Federal Government to provide leadership to the States 
and takes an important first step by calling on the Federal Government 
to create an appropriate way to collect relevant data on elder abuse so 
we have a better handle on how prevalent elder abuse is among our 
neighbors, our friends, and our relatives.
  It assures adequate public-private infrastructure and resources to 
prevent,

[[Page S4431]]

detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, 
prosecute elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
  With more than 76 million baby boomers retiring over the next three 
decades, we cannot wait any longer for this legislation to pass. Older 
Americans deserve nothing less. I know that it is extremely important 
to folks back home in Utah.
  In closing, 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. Because we are not aging 
gradually, our response must be immediate--we cannot afford to wait for 
another Congress to end without approving this legislation.
  Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, men are respectable only as they 
respect. May we strive to be more respectable people by showing respect 
to those who deserve it the most: our older Americans.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas.

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