[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ELDER ABUSE VICTIMS ACT OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RAHM EMANUEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 22, 2008

  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
5352, the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2008.
  This bipartisan legislation increases prosecutions by providing 
technical, investigative, coordination, and victim assistance resources 
to law enforcement to support elder justice cases. Additionally, it 
also provides grants for training, technical assistance, policy 
development, multidisciplinary coordination and other types of support 
to local prosecutors handling elder justice--related cases.
  Elder abuse is a silent but widespread problem: reports reveal that 
500,000 to 5 million senior Americans will be victims of some form of 
abuse every year, causing illness, suffering, and premature death. In 
my home state of Illinois, reports to the Illinois Elder Abuse and 
Neglect Program increased by 48% between 1997 and 2005.
  Few pressing social issues have been as systematically ignored as 
elder abuse. Over the past 25 years, 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.
  A comparison of federal money spent to fight abuse and neglect shows 
that less than 2 percent of federal dollars spent on abuse and neglect 
goes toward elder abuse. In addition, no federal law has yet been 
enacted that adequately and comprehensively addresses the issues of 
elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
  Since my election to Congress, I have been working with my colleagues 
Rep. Peter King and Senators John Breaux, Orrin Hatch and Blanche 
Lincoln to pass the Elder Justice Act to protect vulnerable seniors. I 
am glad the bill before us, the Elder Abuse Victims Act includes many 
of the crucial law enforcement provisions of the Elder Justice Act. 
This bill is the first step to understanding--and therefore 
eradicating--elder abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pennsylvania for including 
these crucial provisions in his legislation and I urge my colleagues to 
join me in voting for H.R. 5352, the Elder Abuse Victims Act.

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