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[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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