[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S1468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DIGNITY IN AGING ACT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, last night we passed by unanimous 
consent legislation to revise and extend for 5 more years the key 
programs that Congress established under the Older Americans Act of 
1965. I cosponsored the final version of this measure, which passed our 
Chamber as a Senate amendment to the Dignity in Aging Act, H.R. 4334.
  I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Senator 
Collins for leading the bicameral negotiations that made this 
bipartisan compromise possible. I expect that the other Chamber will 
soon accept the changes we made to their version of this legislation, 
so that Congress can send the final version to the President's desk in 
fairly short order.
  For over five decades, the Older Americans Act has made resources 
available to the Aging Network and States for services to the elderly 
and disabled. An example is the nutrition services program authorized 
under title III, which makes resources available for home-delivered 
meals, enabling the homebound to remain independent. This statute also 
helps older Americans live independently by supporting community-based 
services, making information about care options available to family 
caregivers, and supporting the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
  As I continue my 99 county meetings across the State of Iowa each 
year, I welcome the feedback and ideas I get from local residents to 
help make our communities safer and stronger for older Americans. I 
also want to take this opportunity to commend the members of the Elder 
Justice Coalition, as well as groups such as the Iowa Association of 
Area Agencies on Aging, for their efforts in this area. These 
organizations and their members deserve recognition for their continued 
work on behalf of the Nation's older Americans and their contributions 
to this year's Older Americans Act extension.
  In a decade, all of our Nation's baby boomers will have reached the 
age of 65 or older, and this demographic shift creates new challenges 
for our communities. With this in mind, I am currently working with my 
colleagues on other bipartisan initiatives to improve the quality of 
life for older Iowans, including legislation that would extend the 
Elder Justice Act. As the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee, I wrote the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act to 
curb elder abuse and beef up tools and resources within local 
communities to help prevent financial fraud and exploitation of older 
citizens. For those Iowans who enjoy working and need to continue 
working to pay the bills, I have also championed legislation to 
strengthen age-related workplace discrimination laws.
  Mr. President, as noted by the former head of the Iowa Association of 
Area Agencies on Aging, ``The Older Americans Act provides the 
foundation that allows Iowa to continue to be a great place to for 
Iowans to call home.'' I want to again thank my colleagues for working 
with me in a bipartisan way on this legislation to improve the lives of 
older Americans in Iowa and across the United States.

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