[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   ENSURING CAREGIVERS' OPPORTUNITIES

  (Mr. KILMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, older Americans want to spend their golden 
years living in dignity. For many, that means being able to stay in 
their own homes.
  In concert with the White House Conference on Aging, this week I met 
with a group of home care workers that turned that wish into a reality. 
They work tirelessly to cook meals, help with therapies, make sure 
medication is taken properly, and help people live under their own 
roof.
  The work of caregivers is so valuable, so I want to call on this 
Congress to actually value them. What does it say when the people who 
care about our most vulnerable--our parents and our grandparents--are 
so poorly compensated?
  One of the caregivers I met with expressed that her pay was so low 
she wasn't building up enough in Social Security to retire, herself.
  We need to work for better wages and for the notion that, when 
someone works overtime, they get paid overtime. We need to expand 
training and apprenticeship opportunities so those working hard in 
these demanding positions can move up.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a grandmother who is now 105 years old. I want 
the caregivers taking care of her and her generation and future 
generations to know that we respect what they do, not just with words, 
but with policies and pay that supports them.

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