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| September 10th, 2008 |
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Media Contact(s): Mark Eddington, 202-224-5251 |
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Printable Version |
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HATCH'S ELDER JUSTICE ACT UNANIMOUSLY PASSES SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
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WASHINGTON – An important bill to protect the nation’s elderly from abuse and exploitation cleared the Finance Committee today and will now be considered by the full Senate.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who introduced the Elder Justice Act (S. 1070) with Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), was pleased with the committee’s decision and expressed hope about the legislation’s prospects for full Senate approval. HR 1783, the House companion bill to S. 1070, was approved by the House Judiciary Committee in June.
“With more than 500,000 Americans age 60 and over being victims of domestic abuse, the time is long overdue for legislation that will protect our nation’s seniors from those who would prey upon them physically, financially and psychologically,” Hatch said following the committee’s unanimous vote. “Our right to live free from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation should not decrease with increasing age. This bill will help tackle this insidious problem that has often gone unreported and is one of the most serious problems facing elderly Americans and their families.”
The Elder Justice Act, which has 30 cosponsors and enjoys wide bipartisan support, would assist the federal government in collecting data on the number of seniors being abused and ensure the necessary resources are available to prevent, detect, treat and, when appropriate, prosecute mistreatment of America’s senior citizens.
Some of the bill’s provisions include measures to:
• Establish the Elder Justice Coordinating Council and an advisory board to advise and coordinate efforts by the federal, state and local governments related to elder abuse.
• Implement penalties and prosecution for failure to report abuse and other crimes in long-term care facilities.
• Ensure adequate public-private infrastructure and resources to better prevent and tackle the problem, treat the victims and prosecute offenders.
• Direct the federal government to collect relevant data on elder abuse to get a better understanding of the scope of the problem.
• Provide Adult Protective Services grants in the amount of $100 million annually for four years.
Hatch said he is astounded how little the government is willing to dedicate to ending elder abuse. He noted the government spends $6.7 billion annually on child abuse and $520 million on domestic abuse. In comparison, only $153 million is spent on elder abuse, despite the fact that more than 76 million baby boomers will reach retirement age over the next three decades.
“We can no longer ignore the reality that elder abuse is prevalent within our society – and we must do something to address it. This bill will go a long way to doing precisely that,” Hatch said.
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