[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I call my colleagues' attention to an 
issue that has affected many families in Iowa and throughout the 
country. That issue is elder abuse and neglect of those same people.
  Many older Americans reside in assisted care facilities, nursing 
homes, and all kinds of group living arrangements. It is critical that 
these care facilities and the staff at the facilities not only follow 
the law but provide the type of care they would want their own family 
members to receive.
  The Des Moines Register last year published reports suggesting a 
troubling lack of compassionate care for elderly residents in some of 
the nursing homes in my State. We also had other reports surfacing in 
2017 of nursing home workers in at least 18 different facilities taking 
humiliating and unauthorized photos of elderly residents and posting 
them on social media websites.
  Earlier this year, I convened an oversight hearing in which we heard 
from the daughters of two elderly women who resided in a federally 
funded nursing home. One testified that her mother, an Iowan, died due 
to neglect in a facility that held the highest possible rating--a five-
star rating--on a Federal Government website. The family discovered 
that the nursing home was the subject of multiple complaint 
investigations related to those complaints in recent years. Yet, after 
each complaint, government inspectors reported the facility had come 
back ``into substantial compliance with program requirements.''
  At this same hearing, another witness from another State testified 
about her mother's rape in a nursing home.
  These and similar cases around the country point to the need for 
reform. By one estimate, 1 in 10 persons older than the age of 60 will 
fall victim to elder abuse each year.
  According to the inspector general at the Department of Health and 
Human Services, one-third of nursing home residents may experience harm 
while under the care of these facilities. In more than half of these 
cases, the harm was preventable. That is why statutes like the Elder 
Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act, which I championed in the last 
Congress; also the Older Americans Act, which promotes seniors' 
independence; and the Elder Justice Act, which I have long supported, 
are all very important pieces of legislation.
  On Monday, I introduced a resolution designating June 15 as World 
Elder Abuse Awareness Day. I would like to thank my lead cosponsor, 
Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut, for joining me in introducing this 
legislation. The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, as 
well as the leaders of Senate Aging Committee, Senators Collins and 
Casey, along with Senators Lankford and Hassan, also are original 
cosponsors. I thank all of them for doing that.
  This bipartisan resolution recognizes those adult protective services 
and healthcare personnel, ombudsmen, criminal justice personnel, and 
advocates who help prevent and combat elder abuse in communities all 
around our country.
  It calls for us to promote awareness and long-term prevention of 
elder abuse. Congress has a very key role to play in ensuring the 
protections of seniors, not only in the passing of legislation but in 
our constitutional oversight role to make sure the executive branch of 
government faithfully executes those laws. In faithfully executing our 
laws in spirit as well as in the legalese, they will be helping us 
prevent elder abuse.
  Years ago, I joined my colleagues in developing an earlier version of 
the Elder Justice Act. It is time to update and extend the key programs 
authorized under this important law, which authorized the Elder Justice 
Coordinating Council and also authorized resources to support forensic 
centers to investigate elder abuse, among other initiatives in that 
important legislation. I am working closely with the members of the 
Elder Justice Coalition on legislation to accomplish that goal.
  It is also time for us to update and extend the Older Americans Act, 
which I have long supported.
  As Finance Committee chairman, I intend to convene a hearing to 
discuss ways that we can continue to promote the health and well-being 
of our seniors, which is an issue I have cared about for a long time.
  Creating a supportive, inclusive environment in our communities is 
essential to preventing elder abuse, and that is what the World Elder 
Abuse Awareness Day is all about.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in raising awareness for the most 
vulnerable among us, protecting our loved ones and protecting people we 
don't know, but in the process of our doing that, we empower all 
citizens to take a stand against elder abuse.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________