I
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2786
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 1, 2011
Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide social service agencies with the resources to provide services to meet the unique needs of Holocaust survivors to age in place with dignity, comfort, security, and quality of life.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Holocaust Survivors Assistance Act of
2011
.
Purposes; findings; definitions; grants
Purposes
The purposes of this Act are—
to include
older individuals who are Holocaust survivors
to the list of
groups that receive preference for services as defined in section 305(a)(2)(E)
of the Older Americans Act of 1965,
to designate within the Administration on Aging an individual to have responsibility for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors, and
to create a grant program to increase and improve transportation services for older individuals with preference to those older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.
Findings
The Congress finds the following:
During the Holocaust, which took place between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 6,000,000 Jews, as well as millions from other targeted groups, were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators.
Approximately 127,000 Holocaust survivors remain in the United States, and thousands pass away each year.
Holocaust survivors are getting older and frailer, and will be seeking additional support and assistance from social service providers to enable them to age in place. Providers face increased levels of demand from vulnerable individuals without any additional revenue to cover needed services.
All Holocaust survivors are at least 65 years old with approximately three quarters of them older than 75 and a majority in their 80s and 90s.
More than half of all Holocaust survivors who emigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union after 1965 fall beneath 200 percent of the Federal poverty threshold and constitute an extremely vulnerable at-risk population in the United States.
Holocaust survivors continue to live with the mental and physical scars of the unconscionable trauma caused by the Holocaust.
While institutionalized settings are beneficial for some older people, long-term care facilities can have an adverse effect on Holocaust survivors. For many Holocaust survivors, institutionalized settings reintroduce sights, sounds, smells, emotions and routines which can induce panic, anxiety, and re-traumatization as a result of experiences resulting from the Holocaust.
Approximately two-thirds of Holocaust survivors live alone and living alone is a risk factor for institutionalization.
Low income Holocaust survivors are more reliant on social service programs than most other older Americans, with proportionally more Holocaust survivors needing services such as personal care, home-delivered and congregate meals, transportation, counseling and mental health support.
Definition
Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002) is amended by adding at the end the following:
The term Holocaust survivor means an individual who—
lived in a country between 1933 and 1945 under a Nazi regime, under Nazi occupation, or under the control of Nazi collaborators; or
fled from a country between 1933 and 1945 under a Nazi regime; under Nazi occupation, or under the control of Nazi collaborators;
was persecuted between 1933 and 1945 on the basis of race, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity, or other basis; and
was a member of a group that was persecuted by the Nazis.
.
Organization
Section 305(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3025(a)) is amended—
in paragraph
(1)(E) by inserting older individuals who are Holocaust
survivors,
after proficiency,
each place it appears,
and
in paragraph (2)(E) by inserting
older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,
after
proficiency,
.
Area plans
Section 306 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3025(a)) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (1) by inserting older
individuals who are Holocaust survivors,
after
proficiency,
each place it appears,
in paragraph (4)—
in subparagraph (A)—
in clause
(i)(I)(bb) by inserting older individuals who are Holocaust
survivors,
after proficiency,
and
in clause (ii) by inserting older
individuals who are Holocaust survivors,
after
proficiency,
each place it appears, and
in subparagraph (B)—
in subclause (VII)
by striking and
at the end,
by redesignating subclause (VIII) as subclause (IX), and
by inserting after subclause (VIII) the following:
older individuals who are Holocaust survivors; and
, and
in paragraph
(7)(B)(iii) by inserting , in particular, older individuals who are
Holocaust survivors,
after placement
, and
by inserting older individuals who
are Holocaust survivors,
after areas,
.
State plans
Section 307(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3027(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (4) by inserting older
individuals who are Holocaust survivors,
after
proficiency,
,
in paragraph (16)(A)—
in clause (v) by
striking and
at the end, and
by adding at the end the following:
older individuals who are Holocaust survivors; and
, and
in paragraph (28)(A)(ii) by inserting
older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,
after
proficiency,
.
Consumer contributions
Section 315 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030c–2) is amended—
in subsection (c)(2) by inserting
older individuals who are Holocaust survivors,
after
proficiency,
and
in subsection (d) by inserting older
individuals who are Holocaust survivors,
after
proficiency,
.
Program authorized
Section
372(c)(2)(A) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030s–2(c)(2)(A)) is
amended by striking individuals)
inserting individuals
and older individuals who are Holocaust survivors)
.
Prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation
Section 721(b)(12) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058i(b)(12)) is amended—
in subparagraph
(B) by striking or
at the end,
in subparagraph
(C) by striking the period at the end and inserting or
,
and
by adding at the end the following:
older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.
.
Functions of assistant secretary
Establishment of administration on aging
Section 201 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012) is amended by adding at the end the following:
The Assistant Secretary is authorized to designate within the Administration a person to have responsibility for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.
It shall be the duty of the Assistant Secretary, acting through the person designated to have responsibility for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.
.
Activities for health, independence, and longevity
Innovation to improve transportation for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors
Part A of title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3032 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Innovation to improve transportation for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors
In general
The Assistant Secretary shall award grants or contracts to nonprofit organizations to improve and increase transportation services for older individuals, with preference toward those older individuals who are Holocaust survivors. The Assistant Secretary shall make grants or enter into such contracts for period of not less than 5 years.
Use of funds
In general
A nonprofit organization receiving a grant or contract under subsection (a) shall use the funds received through such grant or contract to carry out a demonstration project, or to provide technical assistance to assist local transit providers, area agencies on aging, senior centers, and local senior support groups, to encourage and facilitate coordination of Federal, State, and local transportation services and resources for older individuals who are Holocaust survivors. The organization may use the funds to develop and carry out an innovative transportation demonstration project to create transportation services for older individuals.
Specific activities
In carrying out a demonstration project or providing technical assistance under paragraph (1) the organization may carry out activities that include—
developing innovative approaches for improving access by older individuals to transportation services, including volunteer driver programs, economically sustainable transportation programs, and programs that allow older individuals to transfer their automobiles to a provider of transportation services in exchange for the services;
preparing information on transportation options and resources for older individuals and organizations serving such individuals, and disseminating the information by establishing and operating a toll-free telephone number;
developing models and best practices for providing comprehensive integrated transportation services for older individuals, including services administered by the Secretary of Transportation, by providing ongoing technical assistance to agencies providing services under title III and by assisting in coordination of public and community transportation services; and
providing special services to link older individuals to transportation services not provided under title III.
Preference
In awarding grants and entering into contracts under paragraph (a), the Assistant Secretary shall give preference to organizations and institutions that have previous extensive experience working with and conducting assessment of the needs of Holocaust survivors who are older individuals.
Consultation
In determining the type of programs and activities used to improve and increase transportation assistance for Holocaust survivors, the Assistant Secretary shall consult with the individual designated by Section 201(h)(1) of the Act and with national organizations with special expertise in serving Holocaust survivors who are older individuals.
Eligible entities
To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a contract under paragraph (a), an entity shall have previous extensive experience working with and conducting assessment of the needs of older individuals.
Report to congress
The Assistant Secretary with assistance from the individual designated by Section 201 (h)(1) of the Act, shall prepare and submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate an annual report on the status and needs, including the priority areas of concern, of older individuals who are Holocaust survivors.
.