[Senate Report 109-178]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 285
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-178
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MEETING THE HOUSING AND SERVICE NEEDS OF SENIORS ACT OF 2005
_______
November 15, 2005.--and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. SHELBY, from the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 705 ]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to
which was referred the bill (S. 705) to establish the
Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of
Seniors, and for other purposes, reports favorably thereon with
an amendment, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do
pass.
On July 28, 2005 the Committee voted unanimously to report
the bill to the Senate.
HEARING RECORD AND WITNESSES
On June 16, 2005 the Committee heard from a variety of
witnesses on their views of S. 705, a bill to establish an
Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of
Seniors.
The Committee heard from the Honorable Alphonso Jackson,
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
In addition, the Committee heard from: Ms. Nelda Barnett,
Board Member, AARP; Ms. Dana Jo Olson, Executive Director,
Laurel Manor Senior Residence (CO), appearing on behalf of
Volunteers of America; Mr. Steve Proctor, Pennsylvania Non-
Profit Housing Association and President, Presbyterian Homes;
Dr. William T. Smith, President of American Association of
Homes and Services for the Aging (NY); Mr. Terry Allton, Vice
President of Support Services, National Church Residences and
Chairman, American Association of Service Coordinators (OH);
Mr. Steve Protulis, Executive Director, Elderly Housing
Development & Operations Corporation (FL); and Mr. David G.
Wood, United States Government Accountability Office.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The senior population in the United States is growing
rapidly, and is expected to reach 50 million by the year 2020.
By the year 2030, over one-fifth of the U.S. population will be
over 65 years of age. In recognition of the need to plan for
this population, in 1999, Congress established the Commission
on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for Seniors
(``Seniors Commission''). This Commission was created to study
and report back to Congress on the housing and health needs of
seniors, and to make specific policy and legislative
recommendations on how these needs could be met.
On June 30, 2002, the Seniors Commission presented its
findings to Congress, which contained vital information about
seniors and made a number of recommendations. The Seniors
Commission found that seniors need a wide variety of housing
opportunities which link housing and services. Over 18 percent
of seniors (over 5.8 million) who do not reside in nursing
facilities have difficulty performing their daily activities
and over one million of these seniors require assistance with
many of their basic tasks. The Seniors Commission reported that
for many seniors, service-enriched housing opportunities are
needed to avoid premature institutionalization.
Despite the overwhelming desire of seniors to remain in
their homes and out of institutionalized settings, the Seniors
Commission found that ``many seniors across the income spectrum
are at risk of institutionalization or neglect due to declining
health and loss or absence of support and timely
interventions.''
There are numerous federal programs which can assist
seniors in meeting their needs. However, the programs and
benefits are fragmented across several agencies and
departments, creating a confusing maze of bureaucracies for
seniors and their families to navigate in order to access
needed housing and supportive services. The Seniors Commission
documented this fragmentation in their report, and found that
``the most striking characteristic of seniors'' housing and
health care in this country is the disconnection of one field
from another.'' The Commission concluded that ``the time has
come for coordination among Federal and State agencies and
administrators.''
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION
S. 705 establishes the Interagency Council on Meeting the
Housing and Service Needs of Seniors. The Council is comprised
of the highest level officials who oversee the various programs
that serve seniors. The Committee believes that this will
ensure that Council recommendations will be endorsed by those
who have decision-making authority over the various programs,
and therefore it is the hope of the Committee that any
recommendations made by the Council will be quickly accepted
and implemented.
The Council will be comprised of the Secretaries of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services as well as the
Secretaries, or designees of the Department of Agriculture,
Labor, Transportation, VeteransAffairs, and the Treasury. Also
serving on the Council will be the following (or their designees): the
Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, the Administrator
of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administrator
of the Administration on Aging. In order to ensure that state and local
perspectives are considered, the Council will also have three
additional members- a Governor, a Mayor and a local official, as
appointed by the President. These state and local representatives are
not to be considered federal employees.
While most of the federal officials serving on the Council
will be able to appoint a designee to the Council, the
legislation does not allow the Secretaries of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to appoint a designee.
The Committee believes that in order to truly coordinate
housing and services, these two Secretaries and Departments
must be fully involved in the collaborative process. The
Committee believes that this Council will be helpful in
allowing these Secretaries and the Departments they oversee to
better serve a large segment of their clients- senior citizens.
Each of these two Secretaries will serve as Chair for rotating
two year periods.
The Council will work primarily to coordinate federal
departments and agencies so that seniors are better served, and
can more easily age in place or find alternative suitable
living arrangements. The Council will help to ensure that
seniors and their families have access to better information
and programs, so that seniors can easily access housing linked
with services. The Council will work to ensure ongoing
collaboration among and within agencies that serve seniors, and
will serve as a permanent national platform to address the
needs and issues of our aging population as that population
continues to grow.
In order to carry out its objectives, the Council will have
meetings, hold hearings to gather input from interested
stakeholders, undertake a thorough review of programs for
seniors and assess the actual needs of seniors around the
country. The Council will meet no less than four times a year.
Regular meetings of the Council will help to avoid the problems
experienced by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, where
the Interagency Council on Homelessness was inactive for a
number of years. The Committee believes it is important,
especially in getting the Seniors Council established, that the
Council meet regularly to establish an agenda, procedures,
ethics guidelines, and timelines for hearings and activities.
Since this is a large time commitment, the Committee expects
the Council to adopt internal guidelines and policies to ensure
that these requirements are not overly burdensome on any
members, including the Chair. These policies may allow someone
other than the Chair to oversee Member meetings. In addition,
the Committee expects the Council to appoint a qualified
Executive Director and hire staff so that the day-to-day
activities of the Council can be carried out effectively.
After holding hearings, assessing programs and needs,
identifying best practices, and collecting relevant data, the
Council will make recommendations to Congress about
administrative and legislative changes that should be made so
that existing resources are maximized and programs are
effective, duplication is reduced or eliminated, and programs
and services can be easily pieced together.
While the focus of the Council is coordination of the
federal programs, the Committee understands that federal
programs and services are only one part of the much larger
solution to meeting the needs of seniors. The Council must work
with State, local and private partners in order to adequately
prepare for the needs of the growing elderly population. Under
this bill, the Council is required to hold individual meetings
with State representatives, provide ongoing technical
assistance and work with States so that each State identifies a
liaison to work with the Council on an ongoing basis.
Each year, the Council will prepare a report to Congress on
the barriers and impediments to addressing the needs of
seniors, the efforts made by each agency to increase
opportunities for seniors to find service enriched housing, as
well as the efforts to coordinate with other programs. Each
agency which serves seniors is required to provide information
to the Council annually, and on an ongoing basis, as necessary,
to ensure that the Council is able to perform its duties and
meet its obligations. The Committee envisions that the Council
as part of the executive branch will work with the President as
other federal agencies do prior to reporting to Congress and
making administrative and legislative recommendations.
The bill authorizes $1.5 million per year for 5 years so
that the Council can carry out its activities.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the title of the bill, the
``Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors Act of
2005''
Section 2. Congressional findings
This section states Congressional Findings, including:
(1) The senior population (persons 65 or older) in
this country is rapidly growing, and is expected to
increase from 34,700,000 in 2000 to nearly 40,000,000
by 2010, and then will dramatically increase to over
50,000,000 by 2020.
(2) Seniors need access to a wide array of housing
options, such as affordable assisted living, in home
care, supportive or service-enriched housing, and
retrofitted homes and apartments to allow seniors to
age in place and to avoid premature placement in
institutional settings.
(3) While there are many programs in place to assist
seniors in finding and affording suitable housing and
accessing needed services, these programs are
fragmented and spread across many agencies, making it
difficult for seniors to access assistance or to
receive comprehensive information.
(4) Better coordination among Federal agencies is
needed, as is better coordination at State and local
levels, to ensure that seniors can access government
activities, programs, services, and benefits in an
effective and efficient manner.
Section 3. Definitions
This section provides definitions of the following terms:
``housing,'' ``service,'' ``program,'' ``Council,'' and
``senior.''
Section 4. Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs
of Seniors
This section establishes a high level executive branch
Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of
Seniors.
This section also lays out the objectives of the Council,
including promoting coordination and collaboration among the
federal agencies and departments which serve seniors;
identifying housing and service needs of seniors; facilitating
the aging in place of seniors; making recommendations about
needed changes to maximize the impact of existing programs,
reduce duplication and increase access to programs and
services.
This section details the Council membership--the
Secretaries of HUD and HHS, as well as the Secretaries or
designees of the Department of Agriculture, Labor,
Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and the Treasury. Also
serving on the Council will be the following (or their
designees): the Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services and the Administrator of the
Administration on Aging. The Council will also have three
additional members--a Governor, a Mayor and a local official,
as appointed by the President. This section establishes that
the Secretaries of HUD and HHS will chair the Council in
rotating 2-year terms. Under this section, the Council is
required to meet quarterly, and must hold at least 2 meetings a
year with stakeholders and interested parties. This requirement
can be met by opening at least two of the quarterly meetings to
the public.
Section 5. Functions of the Council
This section lists the activities that the Council will
undertake in meeting its objectives. In meeting its objectives,
the Council will: review all federal programs and services that
assist seniors; monitor, evaluate and recommend improvements in
existing programs, and how programs can be better coordinated;
recommend ways to reduce duplication and ensure greater
collaboration; work to facilitate the aging in place of
seniors; work with states to ensure programs and services are
coordinated at state and local levels; identify best practices
for meeting the needs of seniors; ensure seniors have access to
information about programs and services, including the
establishment of a website; and maintain updated data sources
on seniors and their needs.
This section also requires that each agency or department
that is a member of the Council provide a report to the Council
that describes: each program in the agency or department that
serves a substantial number of seniors; any barriers to the
access and use of such programs; the efforts made by the agency
in increasing service enriched housing opportunities for
seniors; and any new data relating to housing and service needs
of seniors.
Based on the information provided by each member agency,
the Council is required to prepare and transmit a report to
Congress and the President that summarizes the agency
information; assesses the needs of seniors; provides a
comprehensive description of the programs and services that
exist for seniors; describes how the agencies and Council are
working with state and local governments and private
organizations to better coordinate senior programs; and makes
recommendations for legislative and administrative changes
needed to better meet the needs of seniors.
Section 6. Powers of the Council
This section details how the Council will work, including
granting the Council the power to hold hearings and take
testimony as needed. In addition, this section provides that
member agencies must provide the Council with all requested
information. This section also requires the Council to adopt
internal ethics guidelines.
Section 7. Council Personnel Matters
This section clarifies that Council members shall not be
compensated for their service on the Council. Under this
section, the Council must appoint an Executive Director at its
initial meeting, and the Executive Director, with the approval
of the Council may hire staff.
This section also requires the Secretaries of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to provide all
necessary administrative support including office space and
computer/internet access.
Section 8. Authorization of Appropriations
This section authorizes $1.5 million per year for 5 years
for the Council.
COST OF THE LEGISLATION
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 5, 2005.
Hon. Richard C. Shelby,
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 705, the Meeting the
Housing and Service Needs of Seniors Act of 2005.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Jimin Chung
and Matthew Pickford.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 705.--Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors Act of 2005
Summary: CBO estimates that implementing S. 705 would cost
$7.5 million over the 2006-2010 period, assuming appropriation
of the authorized amounts for those years. Enacting S. 705
would not affect direct spending or receipts. The legislation
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 705 would establish the Interagency Council on Meeting
the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors and would authorize
the appropriation of $1.5 million for each fiscal year through
2010. The Council would work to improve the collaboration and
coordination between federal departments and agencies that
provide senior citizens with housing, health care, and other
related services.
The Council would be composed of at least 13 members,
including 10 from federal agencies, and led by the Secretaries
of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the
Department of Health and Human Services. Members of the Council
would serve without compensation. However, the Council would be
authorized to appoint an executive director, who could hire
temporary staff and provide other services as authorized by
law. Federal agencies also could provide technical and
administrative support. CBO estimates that the costs incurred
by federal agencies would not be significant.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jimin Chung
and Matthew Pickford. This estimate was approved by Peter H.
Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW (CORDON RULE)
On July 28, 2005, the Committee unanimously approved a
motion by Senator Shelby to waive the Cordon rule. Thus, in the
opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to dispense with the
requirement of section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of
the Senate in order to expedite the business of the Senate.