Older Americans Act Amendments of 2013
Latest action. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Senate subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Primary Health and Retirement Security. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-791.
Older Americans Act Amendments of 2013 - Reauthorizes the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) and funding for its programs for FY2014-FY2018.
Revises OAA to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individuals, HIV-positive individuals, individuals with Alzheimer's disease, veterans, and Holocaust survivors, among others, within the status of greatest social need caused by noneconomic factors.
Requires the Director of the Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (in the Administration on Aging [AOA] of the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]) to collect, analyze, and report on best practices related to screening for elder abuse.
Requires the Assistant Secretary for Aging of the AOA to assist states with the development of the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and Plan for Enforcement (required by this Act).
Requires the AOA to work with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Secretary of Labor to identify and address personnel shortages in the field of aging.
Establishes an Advisory Committee to Assess, Coordinate, and Improve Legal Assistance Activities to study the legal services activities assistance system for older individuals.
Requires the Secretary of Labor, through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to revise, improve, and report to Congress on the Experimental Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).
Amends OAA to express the sense of the Senate that the amount appropriated under OAA for FY2014 and each subsequent year should be at least $2.675 billion (reflecting a 12% increase over FY2010 levels).
Authorizes states to enter into cooperative arrangements with Federally Qualified Health Centers for services for the elderly.
Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for supportive services, congregate nutrition services, home-delivered nutrition services, disease prevention and health promotion services, and family caregiver support.
Requires area agencies on aging (AAAs) to develop area plans that provide for modernization of multipurpose senior centers, including a plan to use the skills and services of older adults in paid and unpaid work at such centers.
Requires AAA area plans also to: (1) include evidence-based behavioral health services, chronic self-care management programs, and falls prevention programs; (2) describe efforts to increase public awareness of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (3) describe outreach efforts to veterans and coordination of services under OAA with those provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The summary continues for 19 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 23, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 19, 2013: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-791.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Bernard Sanders (I-VT) introduced it on May 23, 2013, and 18 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 18 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 23, 2013, 4858 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4831 days ago, on June 19, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers