[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H5722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SUPPORTING OUR SENIORS--RECOGNIZING THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, last week we celebrated the 
45th anniversary of the adoption of the Older Americans Act. Later this 
month we will celebrate the 45th anniversary of Medicare and next month 
the 75th anniversary of Social Security.
  Seniors are vital to our communities, having spent a lifetime 
building and shaping this Nation. Increasingly, our seniors have been 
able to continue to make important contributions throughout all of 
their lives, volunteering their time, mentoring our youth, and often 
remaining active in the workforce.
  As a former Chairman of Fairfax County, Virginia, I was proud of the 
work I helped lead in the creation of a 50+Plus Action Plan outlining 
more than 60 initiatives to support our senior population. We expanded 
transportation opportunities, ensured communities were planned to 
provide housing options for all ages, pursued respite options for 
caregivers. And it was necessary to bring that focus to Washington.
  This Congress has made strategic investments to assist these efforts 
through actions such as the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act that 
expanded opportunities for seniors to remain active. But it wasn't 
always this way, which is why we needed the Older Americans Act.
  The Older Americans Act facilitates the provisions of necessary 
social services and nutritional support to seniors through a 
partnership with various State agencies. In addition to establishing 
the Administration on Aging, the act established the National Family 
Caregiver Support Program, recognizing the critical role that family 
caregivers provide and the need to make sure they have the necessary 
resources. That act also provides for home-based services, disease 
prevention and wellness programs to promote better health.
  The Older Americans Act was a continuation of the improvements in the 
quality of life begun in 1935 when Congress enacted the Social Security 
Act. The poverty rate among seniors in 1935 exceeded 45 percent. Today 
it is 10 percent. Few acts of Congress have made such a dramatic 
difference on a single demographic group.
  In addition to the Older Americans Act, in 1965 Medicare was 
established to protect seniors' health. Before its enactment almost 
half of all senior citizens lacked health insurance. Given the 
traditionally higher costs of senior health care without Medicare, for 
many Americans there was no prospect of health insurance. Our efforts 
to further enhance the quality of life for our Nation's senior citizens 
continue to this day. The Health Care Reform Act enhances Medicare 
benefits.
  What's interesting to me is I was a young high school debater when 
Medicare was adopted, and the national high school debate topic that 
year was, Would the adoption of Medicare constitute socialized medicine 
in America? Would it, in fact, discourage the private sector? Would it, 
in fact, make us look a lot more like the health care system in the 
United Kingdom or Canada?
  Much of the rhetoric we hear today about health care reform was 
echoed 45 years ago against Social Security, and much of it came from 
the same sources who oppose health care reform today. They consistently 
opposed Medicare. Yet when you go to a retirement community, when you 
meet with seniors across this country, certainly in my district, I 
can't find one who thinks that we ought to repeal Medicare. They know 
that Medicare has made a huge difference in the quality of their lives, 
and going from being maybe the most vulnerable demographic group in 
America in terms of health care coverage, today they have the most 
protected. That's the efficacy of an effective government program that 
has made a difference in the quality of lives.
  Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the anniversaries of the Older Americans 
Act, the Social Security Act, and Medicare, we also celebrate the 
adoption of the Health Care Reform Act that will make the same kind of 
difference in years to come in millions of lives now and in the future.

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