Washington, DC (June 21, 2006) – Today, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 5293, The Senior Americans Independence Act. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15), ranking member of the Select Education Subcommittee of the Education and Workforce Committee, has jurisdiction of this legislation that reauthorizes the Older Americans Act of 1965.
The Older Americans Act has provided grants to states for community planning and services programs, as well as for research, demonstration and training projects in the field of aging. Over the years, grants provided funds to Area Agencies on Aging for local needs identification, planning, and funding of services, including but not limited to nutrition programs in the community as well as for those who are homebound; programs which serve Native American elders; services targeted at low-income minority elders; health promotion and disease prevention activities; in-home services for frail elders, and those services which protect the rights of older persons.
“This bill represents our commitment to meeting the needs of older Americans,” said Hinojosa. “These programs provided health and nutrition education; promotes financial literacy; and strengthens our system of protecting older Americans from abuse. It is incumbent upon all of us to step up and invest in these programs. They improve the quality of life for millions of seniors, and it is quite simply the right thing to do.”
The bill reauthorizes all of the core programs in the Older American’s Act. It promotes greater access to services for individuals who are more comfortable in a language other than English. It maintains the structure of the Senior Community Service Employment Program and reaffirms the dual purpose of the programs – employment and community service. It strengthens the very successful family caregiver program. It promotes greater choices and health and nutrition education so that our seniors can remain at home and in their communities. It promotes financial literacy for family caregivers and seniors so that older Americans physical and mental health is not jeopardized by poor financial health. It strengthens our system of protecting older Americans from abuse. Finally, it recognizes that seniors are a growing resource for the aging network.
“As the Baby Boom generation ages, it is incumbent upon us to protect services and programs for seniors,” said Hinojosa. “This bipartisan legislation does just that and will help the elderly have a productive, active, and fruitful quality of life.”
Prior to passage of the legislation, Hinojosa worked closely with Chairman Patrick Tiberi of the Subcommittee to craft a bipartisan bill and held field hearings to hear directly from constituents.