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n4a Advocacy Alert

October 19, 2007

UPDATE

THANKS FOR THE TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF CALLS TO THE SENATE;
VOTE EXPECTED MONDAY — STAY TUNED

Thank you to everyone who responded quickly to yesterday’s n4a Advocacy Alert on the Smith-Lincoln amendment (#3351) to increase Older Americans Act funding in the Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill currently being considered by the Senate. We heard from several Senate offices yesterday that they are hearing loud and clear from our advocates!

We now expect the amendment to come to a vote on Monday, with a final vote on the bill possibly Tuesday. We need to keep the calls coming until then to keep the spotlight on the Smith-Lincoln amendment.

Please use today to…

1) CALL YOUR SENATORS if you haven’t already done so; and/or

2) Spread the word to your staff, colleagues, allies, community leaders, family, friends and neighbors and encourage them to call their Senators TODAY. The original Alert follows for ease of forwarding to your networks.

Let’s use this window of opportunity to ensure that every Senate office (all 100!) has heard from a multitude of aging advocates in their state. Our collective efforts to spread the word and generate calls to the Senate today and Monday are the only way to secure the votes we will need to boost funding for these critical Older Americans Act programs. Thank you.

October 18, 2007

If You Make One Call This Year to Your U.S. Senators, This is the Call…

Senators Plan to Offer A Floor Amendment to Boost Funding for Older Americans Act Programs; Contact Your Senators to Urge Their Support

Yesterday, the Senate began consideration of the Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies (Labor/HHS) appropriations bill (H.R. 3043) that funds Older Americans Act (OAA) programs, the Social Services Block Grant, the Community Services Block Grant and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, as well as other critical human services programs.

n4a has been working with Senate sponsors to develop a floor amendment strategy to build on OAA increases passed earlier this year by the Senate Appropriations Committee. We now understand that Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who sponsored the request for at least a 10 percent increase for all Older Americans Act programs in May, will be offering a floor amendment to the Labor/HHS bill to boost funding for certain OAA programs. The amendment would:

  • Increase supportive services and centers by $18.4 million to allow local programs to keep pace with projected growth in the 60 and over population and inflation in 2008;
  • Provide $11.7 million in additional funding for the congregate and home-delivered nutrition programs to help programs keep pace with increased gas and food prices; and
  • Increase the National Family Caregiver Support Program by $10.3 million to fund the program at the authorized amount for 2008 under the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006.
Action Steps to Take

1) Call the DC offices of your Senators and ask them to support the amendment. To find contact information for their offices, visit their web sites, which you can find at: http://www.senate.gov.

You can also be connected to their offices through the Capitol Switchboard by dialing 202-224-3121. It is crucial that Senate offices hear from a large number of their aging network constituents about this amendment for it to be successful.

2) Share this alert with others and ask them to do the same! Urge colleagues, advisory board members, volunteers and clients to make calls to both of your state’s Senators.

3) Share any feedback you receive with n4a policy staff (khertz@n4a.org).

The Message

I am calling to ask that Senator _____ support increased funding under the Smith-Lincoln amendment to the Labor/HHS spending bill, H.R. 3043, for key Older Americans Act programs, such as Meals on Wheels, senior centers, senior transportation, caregiver support programs, housing assistance and in-home services for frail elderly. This funding will help local aging programs in our state whose budgets have eroded over the last several years as federal funding has not kept pace with inflation or the growing population of seniors in need of services. Thank you.

Background

Overall, the Senate Appropriations bill includes greater increases for OAA programs, with two exceptions: the House bill increases two programs (Title III B supportive services and centers and the Title V older worker program) that were level funded by the Senate. Once the Senate bill passes the floor, House and Senate leaders will attempt to work out differences between the two versions before sending it to the President.

While the House bill does include increases for nutrition and Title VI Native American programs and placed $16.5 million for Choices for Independence activities under Title II, the Senate bill exceeds those increase levels, providing roughly a five percent increase in meals programs, a more than six percent increase in Title VI Part A, and $28 million in Choices for nursing home diversion, ADRCs, and evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion.

For details on the recommended funding levels for OAA in the House and Senate Labor/HHS bills, please see n4a’s chart: http://www.n4a.org/members/pdf/FY2008July23.pdf.

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For more information, please contact Amy E. Gotwals (agotwals@n4a.org) or K.J. Hertz (khertz@n4a.org), n4a’s Public Policy and Legislative Affairs staff. 202-872-0888.