The Senate voted unanimously to reauthorize programs included in the Older Americans Act (OAA). The effort led by Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) was celebrated by HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his counterpart, Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
The OAA was first passed into law in 1965 and includes provisions ensuring that vulnerable seniors have access to vital nutrition programs and social services. The legislation would reauthorize OAA funding from $2.3 billion this year to $2.76 billion in Fiscal Year 2025 – a 20 percent increase compared to last year. Stakeholders will now wait to see whether the reauthorization will ultimately be included in the end-of-year legislative package lawmakers are currently constructing, though optimism persists based on public reporting that the House views the Senate-passed bill favorably. Specifically, the OAA reauthorization contains, but is not limited to, the following provisions:
- National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults: Expands the mandate of this center to provide training, resources, and best practices to the aging network; the center historically addresses negative health effects associated with social isolation among older individuals.
- Improving Health Outcomes: Adds strategies to address social isolation, including promoting strong and stable connections across generations within families and communities, as a core element of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Healthy Aging and Age-Friendly Communities’ strategic framework.
- Report on Health Outcomes for Older Individuals Living with or Near Family Members: Requires an assessment of physical and mental health outcomes, including an evaluation of how such living arrangements mitigate social isolation and loneliness.
- Improving Broadband Coordination and Reducing Social Isolation: Directs coordination with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to ensure awareness of and access to federal programs supporting digital literacy and broadband access for older adults aging in place.
- White House Conference on Aging: Directs a conference every ten years (most recently in 2015) to provide recommendations for the President, Congress, and federal agencies; the upcoming agenda may include preventing and mitigating social isolation and loneliness, among other priorities.
