[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 160 (Thursday, October 2, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10466-S10467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PATIENT SAFETY AND ABUSE PREVENTION ACT

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I speak today in support of the Patient 
Safety and Abuse Prevention Act, S. 1577. This bill takes needed, 
practical steps to protect seniors in nursing homes and other settings 
wherever long-term care services are delivered. The background check 
procedures used by most States today are inadequate to keep out 
thousands of criminals, who can and do take advantage of loopholes and 
gaps in State systems. This results in needless tragedies and terrible 
harm to seniors.
  As chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, I have read and heard 
about too many of these stories. One young woman, Jennifer Coldren, 
testified earlier this year that her 90-year-old grandmother was 
brutally assaulted by a predator who had a criminal record that went 
unnoticed. If a more comprehensive background check had been done on 
this individual, he would not have been working in this nursing 
facility, and the course of Jennifer's life and her grandmother's life 
would not have been so horribly altered.
  It is past time for the Federal Government to take the lead in asking 
States to improve their screening processes. To do so, States must 
improve their infrastructure. They must connect and coordinate their 
State registries, such as those established for sex offenders and child 
abusers. They must screen all long-term care workers, including those 
who work in private homes. They must require State police checks and 
checks against the FBI's national criminal history database.
  We know that States will take these steps to improve their background 
check procedures if Congress incentivizes them to do so. Seven States 
did exactly that after we provided them with modest grants under a 
pilot program enacted as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 
2003. The dollar amounts required to get these States to expand and 
improve

[[Page S10467]]

their systems were modest, ranging from about $1.5 million to $3 
million per State.
  The results have been extremely impressive. At the close of the pilot 
program, more than 9,000 applications had been disqualified--because a 
comprehensive check showed that the applicant had a serious criminal 
history or a record of substantiated abuse. As a result, thousands of 
individuals who could have harmed our parents, grandparents, and loved 
ones have not been allowed to do so. And all seniors in these States 
who are receiving long-term care services--in Alaska, Idaho, Illinois, 
Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wisconsin are now safer.
  We have a responsibility to build on this record of resounding 
success. If we help States to take these steps I have outlined, we can 
reduce the terrible toll of elder abuse. If we do nothing, experts tell 
us abuse rates will continue to rise.
  I am pleased to have Senator Domenici as a partner and many of my 
colleagues as cosponsors, including Senator Lincoln of Arkansas and 
Senator Cochran of Mississippi. Thanks to the leadership of Senator 
Baucus and Senator Grassley, the cost of this bill--$100 million over 3 
years--is fully offset. With regard to all other Senators, the only 
offices that have expressed concerns are those of Senator Coburn of 
Oklahoma and Senator DeMint of South Carolina. I appreciate the 
willingness of their staffs to meet with my staff and trust that they 
will be able to reach agreement shortly.
  In closing, the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act has made 
substantial progress during the 110th Congress. It is strongly endorsed 
by attorneys general across the country, by the business community, 
labor unions, and elder justice advocates. It has been thoroughly 
discussed in public hearings and also during a markup in the Senate 
Finance Committee, where it was unanimously approved. The 
administration has provided technical assistance on the bill. I hope 
that all Senators will recognize the wisdom of approving this measure. 
Failing to take action to protect our Nation's frailest citizens should 
be unacceptable to all of us.

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