Tag Archives for Senate Special Committee on Aging

House Select Committee on Aging has new life

Published in RINewsToday on July 29, 2024

Just a month ago, the Washington, DC-based Leadership Council on Aging Organizations (LCAO), a coalition of 68 national nonprofit groups committed to representing seniors in Congressional policy making, formally endorsed Cong. Seth Magaziner’s (RI-2) H. Res. 1029, reestablishing the House Select Committee on Aging (HSCoA).  

The freshman congressman picked up the baton from former Cong. David Cicilline, who resigned his seat and now heads the Rhode Island Foundation.  The former Congressman had introduced a resolution to bring back the HSCoA during the 114th-117th Congresses.

At press time, Magaziner’s resolution, introduced on Feb. 23, 2024 (with 26 Democratic co-sponsors and no Republicans on board), has been referred to the House Committee on Rules for mark-up, and if passed, will be considered by the full House.

LCAO endorsed Cong. Magaziner’s 213-word resolution in a June 25th letter. H Res. 1029 amends the Rules of the House to establish a HSCoA.  Although the panel will not have legislative jurisdiction, it’s authorized to conduct a continuing comprehensive study and review of a myriad of aging issues, from income maintenance, poverty, housing health (including medical and research, welfare, employment, education, recreation, to long-term care.

If passed, the Magaziner’s resolution would authorize the HSCoA to study the use of all practical means and methods of encouraging the development of public and private programs and policies which will assist seniors in taking a full part in national life and which will encourage the utilization of knowledge, skills, special aptitudes, and abilities of seniors to contribute to a better quality of life for all Americans.

Finally, H. Res. 1029 would also allow the HSCoA to develop policies that would encourage the coordination of both governmental and private programs designed to deal with problems of aging and to review any recommendations made by the President or by the White House Conference on Aging in relation to programs or policies affecting seniors.

LCAO Calls for Passage of H. Res. 1029

“As we all age together as a society, we see the need to find solutions as demand grows for paid and family care workers, along with finding opportunities to address retirement security. Addressing these demands in a fiscally responsible, bipartisan manner deserves greater attention, understanding and public engagement, says LCAO Chair Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance of Retired Americans, in a June 25 letter written to Cong. Magaziner endorsing H. Res. 1029.

In the endorsement letter, Fiesta explained that while authorizing standing House Committees “perform exemplary oversight and legislative functions over matters within their respective jurisdictions, the HSCoA would have an opportunity to more fully explore a range of issues and innovations that cross jurisdictional lines, while holding field hearings, convening remote hearings, engaging communities, and promoting understanding and dialogue that would contribute to the solutions that present themselves as the number of older people in our nation increases.”

Looking back, LCAO’s letter noted that HSCoA, under Chairman Claude Pepper, closely worked with standing committees, in a team effort and a bipartisan manner, holding many joint hearings with them and helping to pass the end of mandatory retirement, 359-2 in the House and 89-19 in the Senate.”

Additionally, HSCoA “worked to protect Social Security, expose nursing home abuses and set transparency standards, expand home health care benefits as a way older people could often delay or avoid the need of entering into long-term care facilities, and so much more,” said Fiesta, noting that The Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, and Space, Science and Technology were other committees that benefited from the partnership,” Fiesta said.

Finally, Fiesta stresses that HSCoA would also “complement the strong bipartisan work of the Senate Special Committee on Aging which has effectively promoted member understanding on a range of issues, including the concerns of grandparents raising grandchildren, elder abuse and fraud, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on older Americans and their families, the importance of financial literacy in planning for retirement, and the costs associated with isolation and loneliness.”

Magaziner talks turkey about H. Res. 1029

“Older Americans have worked hard their entire lives, and they deserve to retire and age with dignity,” says Magaziner, noting he became the primary sponsor of H. Res. 1029 because it “ensures that seniors in Rhode Island and across the country have their voices heard, needs met, and can enjoy their golden years with peace of mind.”

Magaziner was recently on parental leave and was unable to meet with former HSCoA staffers and aging advocates. He notes, however, that “my staff was able to listen to and gain valuable insight into the successes of the Committee and its role in fighting for America’s aging population.”  

According to Magaziner, his staff is working hard to tell other offices about the benefits of the proposed Committee and will continue to look for ways to raise the profile of this resolution to encourage other Members to become co-sponsors. “I am proud that this resolution received the recent endorsement from the LCAO, along with other prominent organizations including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, AARP, Alliance for Retired Americans, Social Security Works and Meals on Wheels America,” he said, stressing that the support of advocates is important to encouraging House lawmakers to cosponsor the resolution. 

Magaziner stresses that getting bipartisan support for H. Res. 1029 is important to him.  “I’m ready to work with anyone, from either party, to deliver results for Rhode Island—and that includes finding common ground on important legislation like H. Res. 1029,” he says.  “There’s still room for bipartisanship, and ensuring we address issues for seniors across the country should be an area where we can all agree,” he adds, calling on his Republican colleagues to work together with Democrats to move our country forward.

If not this year, push for next Congressional session

But with 98 days left before the upcoming presidential election, can Magaziner push H. Res. 1029 across the goal line?

With the House beginning its 6-week August recess, Bob Blancato, former Staff Director of the, Subcommittee on Human Services, urges voters to ask their lawmakers to support H. Res. 1029 if they are not a cosponsor. “Find them at public events and raise [the importance of their support], he suggests.  

Blancato sees the importance of Cong. Magaziner sending another “Dear Colleague” letter to House lawmakers in soliciting cosponsors. “They should also target some of the House Caucuses, such as the bipartisan Congressional Woman’s Caucus and the Assisting Caregivers Caucus,”  he recommends.

According to Bob Weiner, former Chief of Staff, House Select Committee on Aging under Chairman Claude Pepper (D-FL), the timing to push this resolution is after the upcoming presidential election.  “Most important will be to hit the ground RUNNING at the start of the next Congress, with the agreement by Cong. Magaziner to introduce the first new session day, and give him and the allied groups and supporters the immediate opportunity to build cosponsors at that time,” he says, stressing that the count for the next Congress begins in the next Congress, which could well be a different party majority. “This is a terrific resolution which can have significant impact helping older Americans to protect and build their health and livelihoods, he adds.

Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) and a long-time member of the LCAO, agrees with Weiner’s assessment.  “Historically, the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging served as a unique venue that allowed open, bipartisan debate from various ideological and philosophical perspectives to promote consensus that, in turn, helped facilitate the critical work of the standing committees.  We believe that issues affecting seniors would be best advanced by the re-establishment of such a Committee in the House. Reestablishing a Select Committee on Aging in the House would also complement the strong bipartisan work of its counterpart in the Senate.”

“As was emphasized in the LCAO endorsement letter, we need Cong. Magaziner to tactfully work for bipartisan support of his House Resolution — a commitment he made to the voters in a 2022 campaign press conference that I attended,” says Vin Marzullo, former federal civil rights & social justice administrator and a Board member of Senior Agenda Coalition.

“Additionally, since the Magaziner resolution has less than half of the cosponsors obtained by former Cong. Cicilline, both the Congressman and his staff must step up their outreach efforts to Congressional members on the floor, related House Committee Chairs, House Caucuses, & the House Minority Leader,” he said, noting that grassroots efforts led to the support of Cong. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus”, stated Marzullo, also a former AARP RI President.  

For details about the HSCoA, go to https://rinewstoday.com/congressman-magaziner-takes-baton-on-bringing-back-house-aging-committee-herb-weiss/.

Hoarding and seniors: “The Consequences of Clutter” Report 

Published in RINewsToday on July 22, 2024

With the number of seniors afflicted with a hoarding disorder expected to skyrocket to over 14 million, on July 2 U.S. Sen, Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, unveiled a report putting the spotlight on its impact on older hoarders and their communities.  For seniors those consequences include health and safety risks, social isolation, eviction, and homelessness. For communities, those consequences include public health concerns, increased risk of fire, and dangers to emergency responders.

According to the report, citing the Administration for Community Living’s 2020 Profile of Older Americans, the number of seniors in the U.S. is expected to increase from about 54 million in 2019 to over 94 million in 2060. “Because hoarding disorder disproportionately impacts older adults, experts worry that aging could fuel a rise in hoarding in the coming decades,” notes the report, quoting NPR Morning Edition’s Rose Conlon. 

According to the Majority Staff of the Senate Aging Committee who wrote the report (with a whopping 270 citations), it was developed for information purposes only and does not represent the findings or recommendations formally adopted by the Committee.

Hoarding is a chronic and progressive condition

The report notes that this chronic and progressive condition impacts roughly two percent of the general population, while it affects about six percent of those over the age of 70.

“Hoarding disorder is a heartbreaking condition that is posing challenges to older adults, their families, and their communities across the country,” said Chairman Casey (D-PA) in a July 2 statement announcing his report. “The federal government has an obligation to ensure that Americans can age with dignity and this report makes clear that obligation must include doing more to address hoarding disorder,” he says.

According to Casey, the new report, “The Consequences of Clutter: How Hoarding Disorder Affects America’s Older Adults, First Responders, and Their Communities,” demonstrates the scope and severity of the challenges of this complex mental health condition and offers a path forward for how we can help people, communities, and local governments contend with this condition. 

Local communities throughout the United States are already working to address cases of hoarding disorder, including through the formation of hoarding task forces to coordinate response efforts, says

Casey’s report, noting that the local resources  available often do not correspond with the level of challenge communities are facing. 

Casey’s report issued a series of nine recommendations for how the federal government can increase support to communities that are contending with hoarding disorder, including expanding access to treatment for the condition, providing local officials with more extensive guidance and training to support afflicted individuals, and expanding the scope of tracking and research about how hoarding disorder is affecting individuals and communities nationwide.

The report compiles 55 requests for information, responses, and stakeholder statements submitted by non-profits, social services organizations as well as state and local governments to gather information to better understand the impact of hoarding in local communities. 

“Overall, the report does a good job of outlining the importance of the topic and identifies the federal and state agencies that should be involved in assessment and intervention,” says Randy O. Frost, professor emeritus of psychology at Smith College and a leading researcher on hoarding and related topics.

“Hoarding Disorder is a relatively [recognized] new disorder, having just entered the DSM in 2013. Consequently, there are not identified agencies who can claim ownership of the problem and the potential solutions.” This report legitimizes this problem for attention from these agencies, says Frost, noting that this report also highlights the fact that the prevalence of hoarding is extremely high among the elderly.

“Severe cases are sometimes life threatening for the individual and those living nearby or those called in to provide help,” adds Frost.

An Expert’s take…

According to Frost, the report covers the important issues related to hoarding, including education of the general public as well as family, friends, and people suffering with the problem. It highlights the need to train professionals in best practices for intervention. An important assumption underlying the report is that this is a problem which touches many different social service disciplines, from first responders to assisted living facilities, adult protective services, animal control, mental health, public health, child health, elder services, etc. “When a local case is identified, in current practice, it is not unusual for 4 or 5 of these agencies to be involved, often not knowing what each other are doing. Integration among these agency professionals is crucial for dealing with hoarding efficiently,” he says.

“There is a lot more that could be said about this problem, and a lot more detail could have been included regarding specific recommendations,” he said, stressing that this was not the purpose of the report. “The report was to outline the problem and point different agencies in appropriate directions moving forward. It does so and is a welcome effort from a federal agency,” he says.

Spotlight on Rhode Island

“Hoarding is a serious problem that has apparently not been adequately addressed in Rhode Island as well as in the nation as a whole,” charges long-time advocate for vulnerable and marginalized populations Susan Sweet, former associate director of the Department of Elderly Affairs, and founder of the Rhode Island Minority Elder Task Force (RIMETF).  “While it is present in all age groups, adults over 60 years have the highest level of hoarding behavior and the most risk because of diminished physical and often cognitive abilities,” she says.

“This report outlines the difficult life circumstances that elders with the problem of hoarding face.  The Rhode Island network of aging programs and advocates for older adults do not have the resources to create and implement effective remedies,” warns Sweet. “I hope that shining a light on the issue will encourage policy, funding, and attention to what is a mental health issue and a complication in physical illnesses that create obstacles in attempts to help elders afflicted with the disorder,” she says.

According to Sweet, the Ocean State is one of the few areas and the only state that has organized a Hoarding Taskforce to point the way towards effective client management, education and training of eldercare healthcare, mental health programs and social work entities.  The health and well-being of individuals and communities is greatly impacted by the fire hazards, evictions, safety issues, and other self-neglect problems that occur with hoarding behavior.

“Awareness of the prevalence of hoarding and the danger to our communities and citizens should quicken the pace of funding and support to combat this growing threat,” says Sweet.

Like Sweet, Robin Covington, a member of Rhode Island’s Hoarding Task Force, sees the value of the released Senate Aging Committee’s report on hoarding and its recommendations. “As an adult protective services caseworker I saw firsthand the implications of hoarding,” said Covington, who serves as Coalition Director of Saint Elizabeth Haven for Elder Justice. “Hoarding creates health, fire hazard and safety risks, social isolation, eviction and homelessness,” she said. 

“Often times, people who hoard don’t think they have a problem because of their attachment to their possessions, which makes it difficult to deal with”, says Covington.  Because of its behavioral aspects a person with this behavior needs clinical assistance, she notes, not just decluttering of personal items. 

Covington believes that there is a lack of programs and clinical support in place in Rhode Island to address the increasing problem of hoarding. However, the state’s Hoarding Taskforce is working on helping support case managers and providers by developing a workforce initiative to support individuals with clutter or hoarding tendencies. 

Increase funding for Case Manager interventions

But more funding must be given to Community Action Programs who subcontract with OHA to oversee Adult Protective Services. “It’s pricey to cover the costs of visits, intervention and coordination of a clean-up company,” Covington says. 

A lot of times when it is someone over 60, a report to Adult Protective Services is provided and a CAP agency case manager goes out and visits the older adult to put eyes on them and to help with an intervention like the coordination of a clean-up company, but that can be expensive, notes Covington. 

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for over 23 years and RIMETF’s president  Lori Brennan-Almeida has seen the negative impact of hoarding up close.  For over 20 years, she has seen RIMETF provide emergency assistance to seniors age 55 and over to pay for services to clean their apartments to avoid eviction.

“Clinical intervention is necessary to stop seniors from hoarding”, says Almeida, stressing the importance of home-based therapy. “Grief counseling may be needed because a person often forms an attachment to compensate for a personal loss,” adds Brennan-Almeida.  

“Without counseling, hoarding may well continue after the debris is gone from their apartment and the senior will just collect more items”, says Brennan-Almeida.  

Keeping tabs on hoarding

“This is our first ever hoarding report,” says Misha Linnehan, Deputy Press Secretary for Sen. Casey.  When asked if there would be a follow-up report next year, she stated: “There are currently no plans for another but it is always a possibility.” 

Kudos to Chairman Casey and the Majority Staff for putting resources, time and effort into crafting this report.  For those people in the trenches, future reports should be written and formal Senate Aging Committee hearings held to keep tabs on this growing problem and to determine if the recommendations from this first report are being implemented. 

Don’t drop the ball on this one.

RI Hoarding Task Force

Janet Spinelli and Kelly McHugh are co-chairs of the RI Hoarding Task Force which is convened through the RI Elder Mental Health and Addiction Coalition co-chaired by Chris Gadbois and Janet Spinelli. 

The RI Hoarding Task Force has two committees including the HD Task Force Toolkit Development Committee lead by Christopher Liu, an undergraduate at Brown University and the HD Task Force Website and Outreach Committee.  

Anyone interested in joining the Task Force can email RIEMHAC@gmail.com  More information and resources can be found at RIHoardingtf.ri.gov which is supported through the EOHHS Money Follows the Person Program.

For download a copy of the Senate Aging Committee’s hoarding report, go to chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/the_consequences_of_clutter.pdf

Bipartisan support needed to re-establish House Aging Committee

Published in RINewsToday on May 6, 2024

It was almost like attending a 34th high school reunion.  After over three decades, an on-line meeting on April 25th, would bring five former senior staffers of the House Select Committee on Aging (HSCoA) and House Rules Committee back together to provide firsthand accounts to Maia Leeds, legislative assistant for Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), as to why the New Jersey Congressman, co-chair of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, should call on the caucus to endorse H. Res. 1029, re-establishing the House Select Committee on Aging. 

Washington, DC-based groups, including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), Social Security Works and the Alliance for Retired Americans, including this writer, along with key staff of Congressman Seth Magaziner (D-RI), the primary sponsor of the resolution, participated in the discussion of how the Rhode Island Congressman could attract more cosponsors, especially House Republican lawmakers.   

Throughout the half-hour meeting, Leeds and others stressed the importance of recruiting Republican lawmakers, calling for bipartisan support of H. Res. 1029. According to “Votes in Congress” published in the New York Times on Oct. 13, 1974, even with the Democrats controlling the House in 1974, the HSCoA was established by a huge bipartisan vote of 299 to 74.  In 1993, House Democratic belt-tightening efforts to save $ 1.5 million funding the operations of HSCoA would force it to close its door.

The House Aging Committee was not charged with drafting legislation. Its mission was to conduct investigations and hold hearings to put the spotlight on aging issues that would ultimately lead standing committees with aging jurisdiction to craft legislation to address these issues. 

From the 114th Congress, until he retired during the 117th Congress, in each Congressional session, former Congressman David Cicilline had introduced a resolution to bring back the HSCoA. The resolution failed to gain traction and get support from either House Republic Leader Paul Ryan or House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Magaziner would ultimately pick up the baton and introduce H. Res. 1029, on Feb. 23, 2024. This resolution was referred to the House Committee on Rules for mark-up, and if passed will be considered by the full House. At press time, there are only 26 Democratic cosponsors, with no Republican cosponsors.

Simply Put…

Magaziner’s 213-word resolution simply amends the Rules of the House to establish a HSCoA, without legislative jurisdiction, to conduct a continuing comprehensive study and review an array of aging issues, including income maintenance, poverty, housing, health (including medical research), welfare, employment, education, and long-term care.

H. Res. 1029 also calls for the reestablished HSCoA to study ways that would encourage the development of public and private sector programs and policies that would keep older Americans active in their community.   

The resolution would also allow the HSCoA to develop policies that would encourage the coordination of both government and private programs designed to deal with problems of aging -and to review any recommendations made by the President or White House Conference on Aging in relations to programs and policies impacting seniors.

According to EveryCRS Report, the House can easily establish an ad hoc (temporary) select committee just by approving a simple resolution with no Senate or Presidential approval. It contains language establishing the committee, detailing a purpose, defining membership. Salaries and expenses of standing committees, special and select, are authorized through the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill.

Magaziner, currently out on parental leave, couldn’t make the online meeting, but Chief of Staff Clayton Schroers, and Kyra Whitelaw, Legislative Assistant, came to monitor the gathering to gain insight from former staffers of HSCoA’s impact on the development of aging policy.

According to Magaziner, his staff are working hard to speak to other congressional offices about the benefits of the proposed committee and who will continue to work to raise the profile of this resolution to encourage other members to become cosponsors. “I was grateful for the opportunity to present to the Leadership Council on Aging, a national coalition of national nonprofit organizations that works on policy issues related to the well-being of America’s seniors,” says Magaziner, noting that his resolution has the support of the NCPSSM and Meals on Wheels America.”

As Magaziner works to increase the number of cosponsors for H. Res. 1029, he says: “The support of advocates is important to encouraging Congressional representatives to cosponsor this resolution.”

“I’m ready to work with anyone, from either party, to deliver results for Rhode Island—and that includes finding common ground on important legislation like H. Res. 1029,” says Magaziner. “I believe there’s still room for bipartisanship, and ensuring we address issues for seniors across the country should be an area where we can all agree. I will continue to urge my Republican colleagues to work together with Democrats to move our country forward,” he says.

Former Congressional staffers call for passage of H. Res. 1029

“A House Aging Committee would centralize Congress’s consideration of older American issues and could be of assistance to authorizing committees with legislative jurisdiction over agencies and programs important to seniors,” says Max Richtman, NCPSSM’s President and CEO, explaining why NCPSSM will directly encourage House members to cosponsor H. Res. 1029.  

According to Richtman, a 16-year veteran of Capitol Hill, the pros outweigh the cons on supporting Magaziner’s resolution. A House Aging Committee would centralize Congress’s consideration of older American issues and could be of assistance to authorizing committees with legislative jurisdiction over agencies and programs important to seniors. However, it would take staff and clerk hire (money) away from the authorizing committees.

Like Magaziner, Richtman observes that bipartisan support for programs and agencies important to senior has a mixed record. “There is some bipartisan agreement on the Older Americans Act (OAA). But even on OAA, bipartisan action can vary widely, says Richtman, especially when Republicans want to make across the board cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, including OAA, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Low-Income Home Energy Assistance  Program. “And there appears to be no bipartisan agreement on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” he says.

Richtman, a former Staff Director of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, says that the upper chamber sees the value of the Senate Aging Committee, noting that he believes that it has operated in a bipartisan manner. 

Bob Blancato, former Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging and former Staff Director, Subcommittee on Housing & Consumer Interests, from 1978-93, has joined the efforts to pass H. Res. 1029. “I just wanted to add another voice in favor of this resolution,” says Blancato, President of Matz, Blancato and Associates.

According to Blancato, who served as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Human Services from 1977 to 1991, important policies were addressed over those years.  Several amendments to the Older Americans Act were adopting, including creating a separate program for home delivered meals. He remembers his subcommittee held the first hearing ever on the issue of grandparent visitation rights.  

Although some standing committee chairs felt THE aging committee made them work harder because of issues raised in their legislative jurisdictions, there were many examples of both “working together,” says Blancato. He recalls the House Education and Labor Committee working close with his subcommittee on legislation, including the Older Americans Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Blancato sees the need to bringing back the HSCoA. Since it was abolished over 30 years ago, there are many issues that need to be addressed with the graying of the nation’s population, he says.  

“A good gauge to see if House lawmakers consider aging policy to be a bipartisan issue is if the Older Americans Act gets renewed on a bipartisan vote this year,” notes Blancato, stressing that “this will be a good test.”

Elaina K. Goldstein, JD, MPA remembers the day when the HSCoA ceased to exist. “It was heartbreaking to have to pack up the incredible work done by the HSCoA and I am thrilled to be involved with its resurrection,” says the former Legal Counsel for the Subcommittee on Retirement and Employment. “It would be incredible if H. Res. 1029 passes, to once again see its staff work hand in hand with the Committees of jurisdiction to get important issues into the light so they could be remedied to make life better for seniors,” she says.   

As a former HSCoA staffer, Goldstein disagrees with those seeing conflict between the Select Committee and Standing Committees. “Quite the opposite,” she said, noting that Subcommittees did not have and will not have any legislative jurisdiction.,” she noted.  

According to Goldstein, many of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) health concerns and subsequent hearings held by HSCoA were uncovered by the Senate Finance Committee staff who felt they could not move forward politically in their Committee but felt the House Aging Committee could get the issue out in the open and then they could follow up. “As I said, these issues were ultimately addressed in the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and accountability Act of 1996,” she noted.

As to gaining Republican cosponsors, Goldstein sees aging policy losing some of its bi-partisan appeal with the debates over Social Security and Medicare. “It seems that Republican lawmakers feel the issues of Social Security and Medicare are Democratic issues,” she says, noting that there are so many others. “If the Committee would also take on the issues and concerns of people with disabilities —which they do in the Senate Aging committee —many issues that impact the aging are issues for the disabled as well,” she says, stressing this could well increase bi-partisan appeal.

Robert Weiner, President of Robert Weiner Associates News, saw the negative impact of the HSCoA being abolished. As Staff Director of the Health and Long-Term Care Subcommittee from 1975-76 and the former Claude Pepper’s  (D-FL) Chief of Staff (1976-80) when he chaired the full committee, Weiner knew how shortchanged seniors would be when the committee was abolished. “I always have wanted that decision reconsidered.,” he said.

“Reform”, instead of facts on Social Security have unfortunately now become the political value system norm, and age discrimination has crept back more and more, from hiring and firing in everything  whether private sector or politics. The Aging Committee and its members were and could again be a wedge of power representing older Americans of both parties,” says Weiner, who was a close confident of Pepper until he died in 1989.

Looking back, “We got legislation passed abolishing age-based mandatory retirement, as well as Medicare expansion of home health care, standards for cancer insurance, a major Social Security protection deal co-authored by Pepper, and many other laws by initial press during our investigations and then working closely with the standing committees on the bills,” says Weiner.

Some say that Cicilline’s efforts to pass the resolution to reestablish the HSCoA stalled because of the standing committee’s fear of loss of power in the legislative process. “This is anything but new. We did, and any new committee must, cooperate with, meet with, and support the standing committees’ efforts.  Pepper always made friends and cooperated. We worked closely with chairs and leaders from Gus Hawkins (D-CA) to Gladys Spellman (D-MD)  to Dan Rostenkoswski (D-Ill) to House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-Mass) and Republican leader Bob Michel (R-Ill),” remembered Weiner.

The key to getting Magaziner’s resolution passed is for the Congressman to actively work to expand the co-sponsorships by taking co-sponsorship sign-up sheets and have conversations around the House floor and cloakrooms and thereby get to well over 100,” says Weiner. 

 A Final Note:

At the on-line meeting, former Senior Staff of HSCoA and Washington, DC-based aging groups, and Rhode Island senior advocates, praised Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s co-sponsorship of H. Res. 1029. Increasing the number of co-sponsors to over 100, especially recruiting GOP lawmakers, might just give the resolution traction this Congress.  Hopefully, Congressman Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and the moderate Democratic and Republican members of his caucus will see the value of following Gottheimer’s lead. Yes, aging should be considered a bipartisan issue, just like it was in 1974 when both Democrats and Republicans rallied to establish HSCoA.  

Without support of the House Republican leadership, Richtman warns that it is unlikely that H. Res. 1029 will be considered during the 118th Congress.  However, efforts to drive up the number of cosponsors – especially if it can attract some Republican support – might enable the resolution to be considered if there is a more pro-senior majority in the House of Representatives,” he says.

It’s now time for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to step to the plate and support H. Res. 1029, and consider aging to be a bipartisan issue.  The switching of legislative control in the Senate over 47 years and the contentious debates over Social Security and Medicare, has had little impact on the operations of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. The bipartisan panel has continued to investigate and put the spotlight on critical aging issues, working with Senate standing committees to draft legislation to enhance the life and well-being of America’s seniors.  It’s now time for the House to bring back the HSCoA.  

Herb Weiss, LRI’12, is a Pawtucket-based writer who has covered aging, health care and medical issues for over 44 years. To purchase his books, Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly, and a sequel, compiling weekly articles published in this commentary, go to herbweiss.com.

 Participants of April 25 online meeting:

House Staffers: Chief of Staff Clayton Schroers and Kyra Whitelaw, Legislative Assistant, Office of Congressman Seth Magaziner; Maia Leeds, legislative Assistant, for Josh Gottheimer, Office of Congressman Josh Gottheimer.

Senior House Staffers: Bill Benson, former Assistant Secretary for Aging, US Dept. of Health and Human Services and former Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Housing & Consumer Interests, House Permanent Select Committee on Aging, from 1987-90;  Bob Blancato, former Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging and former Staff Director, Subcommittee on Housing & Consumer Interests, from 1978-93; Elaina K. Goldstein, JD, MPA,  former Legal Counsel for the Subcommittee on Retirement Income and Employment; Robert S. Weiner, former Staff Director, Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care from 1975-77, Chief of Staff of the full Aging Committee from 1976-80); Thomas J. Spulak, former Staff Director, House Rules Committee (under Congressman Pepper), 1982-89 and Chair, the Claude Pepper Foundation.

National Aging Organizations: Nancy Altman, President, Social Security Works, Dan Adcock, Government Relations and Policy Director of the NCPSSM; and David Simon, Legislative Representative for the Alliance for Retired Americans.

Rhode Island: Vincent Marzullo, former Director of the Corporation for National Community Service, Board member of the Senior Agenda of RI, and member of Magaziner’s Senior Advisory Council; Robert Robillard, President of RI Senior Center Directors Association; and writer Herb Weiss.