Casey Secures Wins for Pennsylvania Seniors, Families in Senate Committee Reauthorization of Older Americans Act

The Older Americans Act funds critical programs like Meals on Wheels, senior community centers, and home and community-based services

Casey fought to ensure reauthorized bill strengthens advocacy for long-term care facility residents, provides new support for grandparents raising grandchildren, and makes it easier for low-income seniors to access nutritious meals

Casey: "Our Nation's older adults have fought in our wars, raised our families, and built our communities-they deserve our support as they age"

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, applauded the passage of the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act out of the HELP Committee. The Older Americans Act, originally enacted in 1965, funds a number of critical programs for older adults such as Meals on Wheels, senior community centers, and home- and community-based services. As a lead negotiator of the reauthorization bill, Senator Casey fought to include provisions that will strengthen advocacy for long-term care facility residents, provide new support for grandparents raising grandchildren, and make it easier for low-income seniors to access nutritious meals.

"Since its passage, the Older Americans Act has served as the foundation for community social services for older adults-from funding Meals on Wheels to local senior centers to home and community-based caregiving," said Chairman Casey. "While this OAA reauthorization could have gone farther to support older Americans, it is an important, bipartisan bill that sustains vital programs, and strengthens support for long-term care residents, grandparents raising grandchildren, and low-income seniors. Our Nation's older adults have fought in our wars, raised our families, and built our communities-they deserve our support as they age."

Senator Casey secured a number of key provisions in the Older Americans Act reauthorization, including:

Strengthening Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents

Casey fought to include provisions from his Strengthening Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents Act, which will bolster the Long-Term Care Ombudsmen program. Long-Term Care Ombudsmen advocate for long-term care residents and monitor conditions and care within long-term care facilities. The provisions included in the bill strengthen the program by reinstating a National Director, improving volunteer recruitment, and commissioning a study on the needs of older adults overseen by the program.

Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Casey ensured the reauthorization bill included provisions to expand support for grandparents raising grandchildren, who face unique and difficult challenges stepping in when parents are no longer able to care for their children. The bill will expand federal support for grandfamilies to grandparents caring children up to age 22, should the child be enrolled in education; previously, families were only eligible to receive support for children up to age 18. Other provisions will extend the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Advisory Council, with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid crisis on grandfamilies. The Advisory Council was originally authorized through Casey's bipartisan Supporting Grandfamilies Raising Grandchildren Act, which he fought to pass in 2018.

Improving Access to Nutritious Meals for Seniors

Casey voted to include provisions in the reauthorization bill that promote providing meals that are medically tailored to seniors' unique needs, and allow for more flexibility in meal delivery by expanding grab-and-go meal options. Grab-and-go meals were an innovation developed during the COVID-19 public health emergency and provided local service providers with the flexibility to meet their communities' needs.

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