On June 21, the House approved, by voice vote, the Senior Independence Act of 2006 (H.R. 5293), legislation to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA) (P.L. 89-73). The House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved the bill on May 17 (see the Source, 5/19/06).
H.R. 5293 would target services to promote home and community-based care placements and avoid institutional care. The bill would emphasize disease prevention and evidence-based health promotion services, including a focus on nutrition education and services, physical activity, mental health care, and improved health literacy. Older individuals with limited English proficiency would be identified as a target population. The bill also would make changes to the community service employment-based training program, including giving priority to individuals over age 65, and requiring grantees to achieve an average time limit of two years for their participants in an effort to serve more individuals and to move participants to unsubsidized work.
“Today, supporting the needs of older Americans is more important than ever. More than 49 million people in the United States are over the age of 60, making it the fastest-growing age group in the country. By the year 2050, that number will reach nearly 90 million and comprise almost a quarter of our population. This trend requires substantial reforms to ensure the quality and effectiveness of federal programs aimed at assisting the elderly,” said Rep. Howard McKeon (R-CA).
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) said, “The Older Americans Act of 1965 is the landmark legislation that articulated our core values as a nation. The act begins with a declaration of objectives which includes the following: ‘Retirement in health, honor, dignity, after years of contribution to the economy.’ This is a statement of our national obligation to older Americans…The legislation before us today…truly represents our good faith effort to respond to the community’s will.”
