[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H1120-H1123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ELDER ABUSE VICTIMS ACT OF 2009
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 448) to protect seniors in the United States from
elder abuse by establishing specialized elder abuse prosecution and
research programs and activities to aid victims of elder abuse, to
provide training to prosecutors and other law enforcement related to
elder abuse prevention and protection, to establish programs that
provide for emergency crisis response teams to combat elder abuse, and
for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 448
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Elder Abuse Victims Act of
2009''.
TITLE I--ELDER ABUSE VICTIMS
SEC. 101. ANALYSIS, REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO
ELDER JUSTICE PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations to carry out this section, the Attorney
General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, shall carry out the following:
(1) Study.--Conduct a study of laws and practices relating
to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, which shall
include--
(A) a comprehensive description of State laws and practices
relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation;
(B) a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of such
State laws and practices; and
(C) an examination of State laws and practices relating to
specific elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation issues,
including--
(i) the definition of--
(I) ``elder'';
(II) ``abuse'';
(III) ``neglect'';
(IV) ``exploitation''; and
(V) such related terms the Attorney General determines to
be appropriate;
(ii) mandatory reporting laws, with respect to--
(I) who is a mandated reporter;
(II) to whom must they report and within what time frame;
and
(III) any consequences for not reporting;
(iii) evidentiary, procedural, sentencing, choice of
remedies, and data retention issues relating to pursuing
cases relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation;
(iv) laws requiring reporting of all nursing home deaths to
the county coroner or to some other individual or entity;
(v) fiduciary laws, including guardianship and power of
attorney laws;
(vi) laws that permit or encourage banks and bank employees
to prevent and report suspected elder abuse, neglect, and
exploitation;
(vii) laws relating to fraud and related activities in
connection with mail, telemarketing, or the Internet;
(viii) laws that may impede research on elder abuse,
neglect, and exploitation;
(ix) practices relating to the enforcement of laws relating
to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and
(x) practices relating to other aspects of elder justice.
(2) Development of plan.--Develop objectives, priorities,
policies, and a long-term plan for elder justice programs and
activities relating to--
(A) prevention and detection of elder abuse, neglect, and
exploitation;
(B) intervention and treatment for victims of elder abuse,
neglect, and exploitation;
(C) training, evaluation, and research related to elder
justice programs and activities; and
(D) improvement of the elder justice system in the United
States.
(3) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, submit to the chairman and ranking
member of the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate, and
the Speaker and minority leader of the House of
Representatives, and the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, and make available to the States, a report that
contains--
(A) the findings of the study conducted under paragraph
(1);
(B) a description of the objectives, priorities, policies,
and a long-term plan developed under paragraph (2); and
(C) a list, description, and analysis of the best practices
used by States to develop, implement, maintain, and improve
elder justice systems, based on such findings.
(b) GAO Recommendations.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General
shall review existing Federal programs and initiatives in the
Federal criminal justice system relevant to elder justice and
shall submit to Congress--
(1) a report on such programs and initiatives; and
(2) any recommendations the Comptroller General determines
are appropriate to improve elder justice in the United
States.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $6,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
SEC. 102. VICTIM ADVOCACY GRANTS.
(a) Grants Authorized.--The Attorney General, after
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
may award grants to eligible entities to study the special
needs of victims of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
[[Page H1121]]
(b) Authorized Activities.--Funds awarded pursuant to
subsection (a) shall be used for pilot programs that--
(1) develop programs for and provide training to health
care, social, and protective services providers, law
enforcement, fiduciaries (including guardians), judges and
court personnel, and victim advocates; and
(2) examine special approaches designed to meet the needs
of victims of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
SEC. 103. SUPPORTING LOCAL PROSECUTORS AND COURTS IN ELDER
JUSTICE MATTERS.
(a) Grants Authorized.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations under this section, the Attorney General,
after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, shall award grants to eligible entities to provide
training, technical assistance, policy development,
multidisciplinary coordination, and other types of support to
local prosecutors and courts handling elder justice-related
cases, including--
(1) funding specially designated elder justice positions or
units in local prosecutors' offices and local courts; and
(2) funding the creation of a Center for the Prosecution of
Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation to advise and support
local prosecutors and courts nationwide in the pursuit of
cases involving elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $6,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
SEC. 104. SUPPORTING STATE PROSECUTORS AND COURTS IN ELDER
JUSTICE MATTERS.
(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations under this section, the Attorney General,
after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, shall award grants to eligible entities to provide
training, technical assistance, multidisciplinary
coordination, policy development, and other types of support
to State prosecutors and courts, employees of State Attorneys
General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Units handling elder
justice-related matters.
(b) Creating Specialized Positions.--Grants under this
section may be made for--
(1) the establishment of specially designated elder justice
positions or units in State prosecutors' offices and State
courts; and
(2) the creation of a position to coordinate elder justice-
related cases, training, technical assistance, and policy
development for State prosecutors and courts.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $6,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
SEC. 105. SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT IN ELDER JUSTICE
MATTERS.
(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations under this section, the Attorney General,
after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Postmaster General, and the Chief Postal
Inspector for the United States Postal Inspection Service,
shall award grants to eligible entities to provide training,
technical assistance, multidisciplinary coordination, policy
development, and other types of support to police, sheriffs,
detectives, public safety officers, corrections personnel,
and other first responders who handle elder justice-related
matters, to fund specially designated elder justice positions
or units designed to support first responders in elder
justice matters.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $8,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
SEC. 106. EVALUATIONS.
(a) Grants Under This Title.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the grant programs under
this title, the Attorney General shall--
(A) require each recipient of a grant to use a portion of
the funds made available through the grant to conduct a
validated evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities
carried out through the grant by such recipient; or
(B) as the Attorney General considers appropriate, use a
portion of the funds available under this title for a grant
program under this title to provide assistance to an eligible
entity to conduct a validated evaluation of the effectiveness
of the activities carried out through such grant program by
each of the grant recipients.
(2) Applications.--
(A) Submission.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this title, an entity shall submit an application to the
Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Attorney General may require, which
shall include--
(i) a proposal for the evaluation required in accordance
with paragraph (1)(A); and
(ii) the amount of assistance under paragraph (1)(B) the
entity is requesting, if any.
(B) Review and assistance.--
(i) In general.--An employee of the Department of Justice,
after consultation with an employee of the Department of
Health and Human Services with expertise in evaluation
methodology, shall review each application described in
subparagraph (A) and determine whether the methodology
described in the proposal under subparagraph (A)(i) is
adequate to gather meaningful information.
(ii) Denial.--If the reviewing employee determines the
methodology described in such proposal is inadequate, the
reviewing employee shall recommend that the Attorney General
deny the application for the grant, or make recommendations
for how the application should be amended.
(iii) Notice to applicant.--If the Attorney General denies
the application on the basis of such proposal, the Attorney
General shall inform the applicant of the reasons the
application was denied, and offer assistance to the applicant
in modifying the proposal.
(b) Other Grants.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations under this section, the Attorney General shall
award grants to appropriate entities to conduct validated
evaluations of grant activities that are funded by Federal
funds not provided under this title, or other funds, to
reduce elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $7,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Elder.--The term ``elder'' means an individual age 60
or older.
(2) Elder justice.--The term ``elder justice'' means--
(A) from a societal perspective, efforts to--
(i) prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute
elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and
(ii) protect elders with diminished capacity while
maximizing their autonomy; and
(B) from an individual perspective, the recognition of an
elder's rights, including the right to be free of abuse,
neglect, and exploitation.
(3) Eligible entities.--The term ``eligible entity'' means
a State or local government agency, Indian tribe or tribal
organization, or any other public or nonprofit private entity
that is engaged in and has expertise in issues relating to
elder justice or a field necessary to promote elder justice
efforts.
TITLE II--ELDER SERVE VICTIM GRANT PROGRAMS
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF ELDER SERVE VICTIM GRANT PROGRAMS.
(a) Establishment.--The Attorney General, acting through
the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime of the
Department of Justice (in this section referred to as the
``Director''), shall, subject to appropriations, carry out a
three-year grant program to be known as the Elder Serve
Victim grant program (in this section referred to as the
``Program'') to provide grants to eligible entities to
establish programs to facilitate and coordinate programs
described in subsection (e) for victims of elder abuse.
(b) Eligibility Requirements for Grantees.--To be eligible
to receive a grant under the Program, an entity must meet the
following criteria:
(1) Eligible crime victim assistance program.--The entity
is a crime victim assistance program receiving a grant under
the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) for
the period described in subsection (c)(2) with respect to the
grant sought under this section.
(2) Coordination with local community based agencies and
services.--The entity shall demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the Director that such entity has a record of community
coordination or established contacts with other county and
local services that serve elderly individuals.
(3) Ability to create ecrt on timely basis.--The entity
shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director the
ability of the entity to create, not later than 6 months
after receiving such grant, an Emergency Crisis Response Team
program described in subsection (e)(1) and the programs
described in subsection (e)(2).
For purposes of meeting the criteria described in paragraph
(2), for each year an entity receives a grant under this
section the entity shall provide a record of community
coordination or established contacts described in such
paragraph through memoranda of understanding, contracts,
subcontracts, and other such documentation.
(c) Administrative Provisions.--
(1) Consultation.--Each program established pursuant to
this section shall be developed and carried out in
consultation with the following entities, as appropriate:
(A) Relevant Federal, State, and local public and private
agencies and entities, relating to elder abuse, neglect, and
exploitation and other crimes against elderly individuals.
(B) Local law enforcement including police, sheriffs,
detectives, public safety officers, corrections personnel,
prosecutors, medical examiners, investigators, and coroners.
(C) Long-term care and nursing facilities.
(2) Grant period.--Grants under the Program shall be issued
for a three-year period.
(3) Locations.--The Program shall be carried out in six
geographically and demographically diverse locations, taking
into account--
(A) the number of elderly individuals residing in or near
an area; and
(B) the difficulty of access to immediate short-term
housing and health services for victims of elder abuse.
(d) Personnel.--In providing care and services, each
program established pursuant to this section may employ a
staff to assist in creating an Emergency Crisis Response
Teams under subsection (e)(1).
(e) Use of Grants.--
[[Page H1122]]
(1) Emergency crisis response team.--Each entity that
receives a grant under this section shall use such grant to
establish an Emergency Crisis Response Team program by not
later than the date that is six months after the entity
receives the grant. Under such program the following shall
apply:
(A) Such program shall include immediate, short-term
emergency services, including shelter, care services, food,
clothing, transportation to medical or legal appointment as
appropriate, and any other life services deemed necessary by
the entity for victims of elder abuse.
(B) Such program shall provide services to victims of elder
abuse, including those who have been referred to the program
through the adult protective services agency of the local law
enforcement or any other relevant law enforcement or referral
agency.
(C) A victim of elder abuse may not receive short-term
housing under the program for more than 30 consecutive days.
(D) The entity that established the program shall enter
into arrangements with the relevant local law enforcement
agencies so that the program receives quarterly reports from
such agencies on elder abuse.
(2) Additional services required to be provided.--Not later
than one year after the date an entity receives a grant under
this section, such entity shall have established the
following programs (and community collaborations to support
such programs):
(A) Counseling.--A program that provides counseling and
assistance for victims of elder abuse accessing health care,
educational, pension, or other benefits for which seniors may
be eligible under Federal or applicable State law.
(B) Mental health screening.--A program that provides
mental health screenings for victims of elder abuse to
identify and seek assistance for potential mental health
disorders such as depression or substance abuse.
(C) Emergency legal advocacy.--A program that provides
legal advocacy for victims of elder abuse and, as
appropriate, their families.
(D) Job placement assistance.--A program that provides job
placement assistance and information on employment, training,
or volunteer opportunities for victims of elder abuse.
(E) Bereavement counseling.--A program that provides
bereavement counseling for families of victims of elder
abuse.
(F) Other services.--A program that provides such other
care, services, and assistance as the entity considers
appropriate for purposes of the program.
(f) Technical Assistance.--The Director shall enter into
contracts with private entities with experience in elder
abuse coordination or victim services to provide such
technical assistance to grantees under this section as the
entity determines appropriate.
(g) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 12 months after
the commencement of the Program, and annually thereafter, the
entity shall submit a report to the Chairman and Ranking
Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives, and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the
Special Committee on Aging of the Senate. Each report shall
include the following:
(1) A description and assessment of the implementation of
the Program.
(2) An assessment of the effectiveness of the Program in
providing care and services to seniors, including a
comparative assessment of effectiveness for each of the
locations designated under subsection (c)(3) for the Program.
(3) An assessment of the effectiveness of the coordination
for programs described in subsection (e) in contributing
toward the effectiveness of the Program.
(4) Such recommendations as the entity considers
appropriate for modifications of the Program in order to
better provide care and services to seniors.
(h) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Elder abuse.--The term ``elder abuse'' means any type
of violence or abuse, whether mental or physical, inflicted
upon an elderly individual, and any type of criminal
financial exploitation of an elderly individual.
(2) Elderly individual.--The term ``elderly individual''
means an individual who is age 60 or older.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated for the Department of Justice to carry out
this section $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009
through 2011.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the second elder justice bill we are considering today
is the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009. The House passed this bill on
suspension last September by a vote of 387-28, but the Senate did not
have time to consider it before adjournment.
It is estimated that each year, as many as 5 million elders are
abused, neglected, or exploited. And the incidence of elder abuse is
likely to only get worse in coming years, as 76 million baby boomers
reach retirement age.
The legal protections against elder abuse vary significantly from
State to State. The problem of elder abuse is especially problematic as
many abuse cases remain secret and are never reported. The National
Center on Elder Abuse has estimated that only one in six cases is
reported.
H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009, sponsored by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Sestak, will help provide training,
technical assistance, and other support, to State and local law
enforcement officials to help them catch and prosecute those who would
prey on our elders.
The bill will authorize funding for specialized elder justice police
officers and units, as well as for special elder justice positions and
units within State and local prosecutors' offices and courts.
It will also provide other services to elders who are victimized. In
addition to training for health care, social, and protective service
providers, it establishes the Elder Serve Victim Grant Program with
regional emergency crisis response teams. These teams will provide
short-term emergency services to elder victims, including shelter, care
services, food, clothing, transportation to medical or legal
appointments, and other life services as warranted.
Finally, the bill requires the Attorney General and the GAO to
examine State and Federal laws, practices, and initiatives, and to
recommend ways to more effectively address this problem. This bill
comes to the floor amended to more clearly define the role of the
Comptroller General in conducting its study and reporting to Congress.
In addition to Joe Sestak, I want to commend the gentleman from New
York, Peter King, for his leadership in making this a bipartisan
initiative. I would also like to acknowledge our former colleague from
Illinois, Rahm Emanuel, for his work on this issue.
I would like to insert in the Record at this point a letter from the
American Bar Association supporting this legislation as a ``significant
step in addressing the inexcusable and growing national problem of
elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.''
American Bar Association,
Washington, DC, February 9, 2009.
Re the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: The American Bar Association urges you
to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act of
2009, legislation that we understand will be brought to the
floor of the House under Suspension of the Rules tomorrow.
The ABA supports enactment of the legislation as a
significant step in addressing the inexcusable and growing
national problem of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation--a
tragedy that is estimated to cause serious harm to as many as
two million people each year. That estimate does not reflect
abuse of residents of long-term care facilities and thus is
likely quite low. Additionally, the problem is estimated to
grow as the older population burgeons.
Elder justice is central to any viable notion of the rule
of law and social justice. The serious problems faced daily
by victims of elder abuse cannot be remedied unless the
justice system is given the resources to address those
problems effectively. Elder abuse is a criminal violation,
yet historically the justice system has handed the issue off
to social services personnel who cannot adequately address
the problem on their own. Currently there are very limited
resources and expertise available to prosecutors to address
elder abuse. H.R. 448 would establish vitally necessary
specialized elder abuse prosecution and research programs and
activities to aid victims of elder abuse and to provide
relevant training to prosecutors and others who work in law
enforcement.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely yours,
Thomas M. Susman,
Director, Governmental Affairs Office.
I urge my colleagues to support this, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse
Victims Act of 2009. As founder and co-Chair of the Congressional
Victims Rights Caucus, I
[[Page H1123]]
believe it's important to advocate on behalf of all victims, especially
our seniors. This is why I am a cosponsor of this important piece of
legislation to protect our elders.
Elder abuse is a serious issue facing the country, and whether abuse
is happening in homes or senior care facilities, we must do what we can
as a Nation to protect these seniors. I believe that because seniors
are often unable to defend themselves from mistreatment and abuse, that
we must work together to prevent violence from occurring in the first
place.
Currently, people over the age of 50 make up 12 percent of the
Nation's murder victims and 7 percent of other serious and violent
crime. Our eldest seniors, 80 years of age and over, are abused and
neglected at three times the rate of all other senior citizens.
H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act, sponsored by Representative
Sestak, helps protect our older Americans from this type of abuse.
Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to provide
grants to State and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and
courts, to assist in the investigation and prosecution of elder
victimization.
In addition to physical abuse, these grants also include identity
theft, mail fraud, and telemarketing fraud as types of elder abuse.
H.R. 448 authorizes the Department of Justice to also award grant
funding to local law enforcement agencies and first responders that
assist in locating the elderly that are missing. These grants will
support programs that monitor older Americans in an effort to prevent
them from facing future harm.
In addition, the bill instructs the Justice Department to carry out a
study of State laws and procedures regarding elder abuse and neglect
and exploitation. The study will give us a better idea of where we
stand and what more we can do as a Nation to address this serious
problem.
H.R. 448 also directs the Department to create a long-term plan on
how to better prevent and detect elder abuse. The plan is also to focus
on the treatment of victims, as well as to evaluate current elder abuse
programs.
Mr. Speaker, everyone has a grandmother, and the thought of our
grandmothers being neglected and abused is outrageous. Nothing made my
blood boil more as a judge to see a case where some elderly person has
been assaulted and their case was on trial.
Older Americans, whether they are our parents, our grandparents, or
our neighbors, hold an important place in our society. They have lived
long lives and given much to their communities and their families. The
acts of abuse against them are intolerable, and they deserve the
protection that we can give them under H.R. 448.
We passed a similar bill under suspension in the last Congress, and I
urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the sponsor of this legislation, a former admiral, the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak).
Mr. SESTAK. The previous bill was on Alzheimer's. And, in my
district, I had one of those patients. A few years ago, he was beat six
times with a belt buckle. One of his neighbors had dementia, and he was
defrauded of $84,000 four months before he passed away. It's why I
submitted the Elder Abuse Victims Act.
This incidence of elder abuse, whether it's physical, financial,
moral, degrading--and I mean sexual--or these types of exploitations
are only growing in numbers. In my State of Pennsylvania, the third
oldest in the Nation, between 2006 and 2007, and then 2007 and 2008,
the incidences increased 39 percent.
Yet, we are really not sure how many incidents there are. My
colleague from Georgia cited numbers may be more than 5\1/2\ million.
But we don't know. At least 84 percent of them are reported to be
unreported.
The issue is that we truly need to step back and have a look, a
comprehensive review of all the States and the agencies that are intent
upon addressing this issue to some degree and come up with one uniform
type of definition and standard by which we could begin to build up the
correct reporting requirements we need in order to properly address
this issue. Then we need to step over and recognize that we do well,
and need to do even better, for our women.
We appropriate $540 million towards violence against women, and $6.9
billion for child abuse, but then recognize it's only a bit over $100
million for senior abuse. And while we need to do more in those areas,
we need to bring this one up to a higher level for our seniors.
I speak in support of this growing population of ours. I do so
because it was well laid out by both sides of the aisle here that in
addition to this one uniform comprehensive set of definitions and
standards, that we then need the proper grants given to the law
enforcement, as well as the prosecution, as well as the victim advocacy
citizens that are trying to do their best to address this.
So, in conclusion, I speak in support of this bill because I think
Hubert Humphrey probably had it best: The moral test of a government is
how well it does not only for those in the dawn of life--the children--
and those in the shadows of life--the sick and the disabled, the
handicapped--but also those in the twilight of life, our seniors.
And so I request the support of all on this bill.
{time} 1845
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
As a Nation, we are not judged by the way we treat the rich, the
famous, the powerful, the important folks that live among us; but we as
a community in this Nation are judged by the way we treat the most
vulnerable among us, the weak, the innocent, the children, and the
elderly. That is how we will be judged as a Nation. It is important
that we then pass this legislation to help protect those innocent among
us, and in this bill it happens to be the elderly. I urge adoption of
this bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, prior to yielding back, I would
like to glance over at the other side of the aisle and recognize my
good friend, Judge Poe, who is probably well familiar with elder abuse
and this general topic, he having been a trial court judge down in
Beaumont, Texas. Mr. Speaker, I strongly emphasize my support of this
legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 448, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________