[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 8650-8651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            OLDER AMERICANS

  (Mr. HINOJOSA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, May is Older Americans Month. Let us 
celebrate Older Americans Month by passing a budget that will promote 
their dignity and health.
  The once-per-decade White House Conference on Aging put 
reauthorization of the Older Americans Act at the top of its list of 
national priorities. I am proud that we are working in a bipartisan 
manner to pass a consensus bill to reauthorize this essential law that 
has built the foundation for our aging network.
  However, we must couple reauthorization with real resources. We know 
that every dollar spent providing a meal or supporting seniors so that 
they can remain at home and in their communities not only improves 
their quality of life, but saves entitlement spending on long-term 
care. That is the genius of the Older Americans Act. Yet we know that 
the Older Americans Act's purchasing power per individual has dropped 
by 50 percent since 1980.
  It is incumbent upon all of us to step up and invest in these 
programs. It is one sure way to help control the cost of

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our growing entitlement programs. It is the right thing to do.

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