Senior and Disability Home Modification Assistance Initiative Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1583 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish an initiative, carried out by the Assistant Secretary for Aging, to coordinate Federal efforts and programs for home modifications enabling older individuals and individuals with disabilities to live independently and safely in a home environment, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 7, 2019 Mr. MORELLE (for himself, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mrs. ROD- GERS of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish an initiative, carried out by the Assistant Secretary for Aging, to coordinate Federal efforts and programs for home modifications enabling older individuals and indi- viduals with disabilities to live independently and safely in a home environment, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senior and Disability 4 Home Modification Assistance Initiative Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1583.IH H1583 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1583 IH SEC. 2. SENIOR HOME MODIFICATION ASSISTANCE INITIA- 1 TIVE. 2 The Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 3 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘TITLE VIII—SENIOR AND DIS- 5 ABILITY HOME MODIFICA- 6 TION ASSISTANCE INITIATIVE 7 ‘‘SEC. 801. SENIOR AND DISABILITY HOME MODIFICATION 8 ASSISTANCE INITIATIVE. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall es- 10 tablish and carry out an initiative under this section to 11 coordinate Federal resources to provide home modifica- 12 tions for older individuals and individuals with disabilities 13 to support enabling such individuals to live independently 14 and safely in a home environment. 15 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL EFFORTS.—In 16 carrying out the initiative under this section, the Assistant 17 Secretary shall, through memoranda of understanding, 18 agreements, or other appropriate means of coordination, 19 coordinate all Federal efforts and Federal programs exist- 20 ing prior to the date of enactment of the Senior and Dis- 21 ability Home Modification Assistance Initiative Act that 22 support home assessments and home modifications for 23 older individuals and individuals with disabilities. 24 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 25 of enactment of the Senior and Disability Home Modifica- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1583.IH H1583 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1583 IH tion Assistance Initiative Act, and annually thereafter, the 1 Assistant Secretary shall publish a report that includes— 2 ‘‘(1) an inventory of Federal programs that 3 support home assessments and home modifications 4 for older individuals and individuals with disabilities; 5 ‘‘(2) for the fiscal year of the report, statistical 6 data on the number of older individuals and individ- 7 uals with disabilities served by each Federal pro- 8 gram described in paragraph (1) and the approxi- 9 mate amount of Federal funding invested in each 10 such program; 11 ‘‘(3) a demographic analysis of individuals 12 served by each such program during the fiscal year 13 of the report; 14 ‘‘(4) an analysis of duplication and gaps in pop- 15 ulations supported by the Federal programs de- 16 scribed in paragraph (1); and 17 ‘‘(5) an evaluation of the impact of Federal 18 home modification efforts and programs on health 19 status and health outcomes in populations supported 20 by such efforts and programs. 21 ‘‘(d) LOCAL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 23 shall, through the National Eldercare Locator Serv- 24 ice established under section 202(a)(21) and in co- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1583.IH H1583 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1583 IH operation with centers for independent living de- 1 scribed in part C of title VII of the Rehabilitation 2 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et seq.), identify and 3 publish an educational brochure on home modifica- 4 tions and repairs for use by older individuals at- 5 tempting to live independently and safely in their 6 homes and the caregivers of such individuals. 7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The brochure published 8 under paragraph (1) shall— 9 ‘‘(A) be written in consumer-friendly lan- 10 guage; 11 ‘‘(B) include information on the value of 12 home modifications to ensure a safe living envi- 13 ronment as individuals age; 14 ‘‘(C) include simple advice on common 15 types of home modification that boost safety 16 and livability; and 17 ‘‘(D) include references to Federal re- 18 sources available to help offset the cost of home 19 repairs or modifications and where those re- 20 sources can typically be accessed locally. 21 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The brochure pub- 23 lished under paragraph (1) shall be distributed 24 widely throughout the aging network, using the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1583.IH H1583 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1583 IH National Eldercare Locator Service, with State 1 agencies, area agencies on aging, and commu- 2 nity-based service providers disseminating the 3 brochure to older individuals and caregivers. 4 ‘‘(B) CUSTOMIZATION.—The Assistant 5 Secretary shall encourage State agencies, area 6 agencies on aging, and community-based service 7 providers to customize the brochure to include 8 available non-Federal resources. 9 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 11 as may be necessary for the production and dissemi- 12 nation of the brochure published under paragraph 13 (1). 14 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION OF INDIVIDUAL WITH A DIS- 15 ABILITY.—In this title, the term ‘individual with a dis- 16 ability’ has the meaning given such term in section 3 of 17 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 18 12102).’’. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1583.IH H1583 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS