Hearings to examine how the Older Americans Act uplifts families living with aging-related diseases.

Special Committee on Aging

2025-11-05

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging convened to discuss the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and its significant impact on millions of American seniors and their families, especially those living with age-related conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The OAA, described as one of the most quietly impactful laws, provides vital services that support older adults' independence and dignity in their communities.

Themes

The Critical Importance and Broad Impact of the Older Americans Act

The Older Americans Act is a foundational law that provides essential support to seniors, often without widespread public awareness. It funds services such as home-delivered meals, transportation to appointments, respite care for caregivers, and coordination through senior centers, enabling older adults to remain connected to their communities. Many Americans, estimated at one in six, benefit from OAA programs annually, receiving millions of meals, trips, and hours of daily living assistance. The OAA is praised for its bipartisan nature and its ability to fill gaps, enhancing the efficiency of other federal programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP. Furthermore, providing community-based services is cost-effective, saving billions of dollars annually by preventing more expensive institutional care. These programs are considered lifelines for families dealing with conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, embodying compassion through community-directed resources.

The Challenges and Support for Family Caregivers

Millions of Americans provide unpaid care for loved ones with age-related conditions, contributing billions of hours of assistance valued at hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Caregiving is described as emotionally taxing, physically demanding, and financially challenging, often requiring full-time commitment while balancing other responsibilities. The OAA offers crucial support and respite, allowing caregivers peace of mind and time for their own lives. Speakers emphasized the need for earlier awareness and access to community resources immediately following a diagnosis to mitigate delays in intervention. Additionally, the importance of culturally and linguistically appropriate programs is highlighted, especially as individuals with cognitive decline may revert to their native languages, making communication challenging for caregivers.

Personal Testimonies of OAA Beneficiaries and Their Experiences

The impact of the OAA is brought to life through personal stories. Erick Montealegre shared how his father, diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, benefits immensely from OAA-funded home-delivered meals and an adult day center. The center provides cognitive stimulation, physical activity, social connection, and dignity, with bilingual staff catering to his father's native Spanish. Stephen Sappington, living with Parkinson's disease, recounted how OAA-supported Rock Steady Boxing classes and support groups have been life-changing, helping him maintain function and connection, and even slowing the progression of his symptoms. Duana Patton, CEO of an Area Agency on Aging, provided examples of how AAAs act as a "front door," connecting individuals to vital services, combating social isolation, and improving health outcomes, such as a diabetic gentleman who improved his health through grab-and-go meals and social engagement.

The Urgency of Reauthorizing and Modernizing the OAA

The authorization for the Older Americans Act expired last year, making its reauthorization an urgent priority to prevent service interruptions and meet the evolving needs of a rapidly aging population. There is a strong bipartisan call to modernize the statute, ensuring greater flexibility and increased capacity to address current demands[ 00:23:10 ]

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. Concerns were raised about potential staff reductions and proposed structural changes to the Administration for Community Living (ACL), which coordinates OAA programs, highlighting the need for stability and robust funding. Speakers emphasized that reauthorizing the OAA, with strong support for Title III services, nutrition programs, transportation, and caregiver support, is a crucial investment in families, dignity, and communities. The OAA is seen as essential for providing immediate support, complementing long-term efforts like the National Plan to End Parkinson's Act which aims for a cure.

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was largely urgent and appreciative, underpinned by a strong sense of bipartisan collaboration. Speakers expressed deep gratitude for the OAA's profound, often quiet, impact on American seniors and their caregivers. The discussions were highly empathetic and personal, with committee members and witnesses sharing intimate stories of their own families' struggles with age-related conditions, underscoring the human element behind the policy. Despite the challenges, a hopeful and optimistic sentiment prevailed, focusing on the potential of continued OAA support to enhance quality of life, maintain dignity, and ensure no family faces these journeys alone.

Participants

Transcript

The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging will now come to order.  Today, we are once again talking about an incredibly important issue that affects millions of American seniors and their families, the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, OAA, and its impact on seniors with age-related conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.  The OAA is one of the most quietly impactful laws this country has ever passed.   It's the reason a senior in Naples gets a warm home delivered meal through Meals on Wheels.  It's the reason a daughter in Pennsylvania can take a few hours of respite after spending the night caring for her father with Alzheimer's.  It's the reason a man in West Virginia with Parkinson's can still get to a physical therapy appointment using transportation services.  It's the reason senior centers across the country, including New York, can help coordinate with all of these things to support older Americans and their families.   These are just a few examples of the faces of this law.  When we talk about reauthorization, we're talking about protecting the people who raised us, served our country, built our communities, and now simply need a bit of our support.  Across the United States, more than 7 million older Americans are living with Alzheimer's.   including more than 580,000 in my home state of Florida.  Alzheimer's steals memories and independence, often turning spouses and children into full-time caregivers overnight.  Nearly 1 million Americans live with Parkinson's disease, which slowly robs people of movement, balance, and speech, but not of their determination or dignity.  Each year, about 90,000 new cases are diagnosed, and behind each one is a family learning to adjust, adapt, and persevere.   Behind each of these numbers is a caregiver, a husband, a wife, a son, or a daughter, providing care around the clock.  More than 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people living with Alzheimer's or another dementia.  Together, they give 19.2 billion hours of informal assistance valued at $413 billion, and that doesn't even include caregivers for Parkinson's, ALS, or other chronic diseases of aging.
These are people holding down jobs, raising children, and still finding time to feed, bathe, and comfort a loved one who depends on them.  They do it out of love, and they deserve our support.  That is why the Older Americans Act is so vital.  It works because it's not a big government approach.  It's directing resources to local communities.  It's neighbors helping neighbors.  In Florida, I've seen the impact firsthand through our area agencies on aging, our senior centers, and the volunteers who deliver meals, install ramps, and check on seniors who live alone.   For families living with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other age-related diseases, these programs are not luxuries, they're lifelines.  They mean a hot meal, a safe home, a few hours of rest for a caregiver, or a ride that keeps someone connected to their community.  When we talk about reauthorizing the Older Americans Act, we are not just debating policy, we are renewing our commitment to America's seniors.   A commitment that in the United States we will stand by our parents and grandparents as they age and that when disease or disability strikes, families will not have to face it alone.  Every service made possible by this law represents compassion made real.  That is what governments should do, empower communities to care for one another and let them direct resources to meet their local needs because they understand their communities far better than anyone in Washington, D.C. does.   I've said it before and I will say it again.  Our seniors have spent their lives building and serving this country, and this bill is one way we ensure they continue to be supported, respected, and valued.  I am proud to be leading the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act this year with Ranking Member Gillibrand, helping Committee Chair Chairman Cassie and Ranking Member Sanders.  I urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation so we can continue to honor, protect, and care for America's seniors and the families who stand beside them each and every day.   And now I'd like to recognize Ranking Member Gillibrand for her opening statement.
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Kirsten E. Gillibrand
One second, I have the wrong remarks.
You're American, so I can't see.  Okay, here we go.  Chairman Scott, thank you for calling today's hearing, and thank you for our witnesses being here.   I'm greatly looking forward to our discussion on how our Older Americans Act provides vital life sustaining supports to older adults and people with disabilities that allow them to live with dignity and independence in the community of their choice.  Many Americans don't realize that the OAA even exists.   even though an estimate of one in six older adults and millions nationwide are helped by OAA funding and programs that they run each year.  In 2024 alone, OAA allowed older Americans to receive over 240 million meals at home or in a community setting.
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Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Over 14 million trips to a doctor, the supermarket, or participate in community events.  Over 10 million hours of help with everyday tasks like dressing or bathing.  The OAA is a bipartisan workhorse program that flies below the radar.
It helps fill the gaps and serves as connective tissue that improves the efficiency of federal programs like Medicaid,   Medicare, Social Security, SNAP, and LIHEAP.
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Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Older adults and people with disabilities want to live and thrive in their communities, and the essential supports administered under OAA allow them to do just that.
It's just a bonus that it's also cost efficient.

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