Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1777 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide equal treatment of LGBT older individuals, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 14, 2019 Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. CRIST, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. SWALWELL of Cali- fornia, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. PAL- LONE, Ms. HAALAND, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide equal treatment of LGBT older individuals, 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 ‘‘Ruthie and Connie 4 LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Older Ameri- 7 cans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1777 IH (1) in paragraph (24)— 1 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 3 (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 4 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(D) status as an LGBT individual.’’; 7 (2) by redesignating— 8 (A) paragraphs (36) through (54) as para- 9 graphs (38) through (56), respectively; and 10 (B) paragraphs (34) and (35) as para- 11 graphs (35) and (36), respectively; 12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (33) the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(34) The term ‘LGBT’, used with respect to 15 an individual, means a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 16 transgender individual.’’; and 17 (4) by inserting after paragraph (36), as so re- 18 designated, the following: 19 ‘‘(37) The term ‘minority’, used with respect to 20 an individual, includes a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 21 transgender individual.’’. 22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 23 215(e)(1)(J) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1777 IH U.S.C. 3020e–1(e)(1)(J)) is amended by striking ‘‘minori- 1 ties’’ and inserting ‘‘minority individuals’’. 2 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION ON AGING. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATION.—Section 4 201 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011) 5 is amended— 6 (1) in subsection (d)(3)(J), by inserting before 7 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including the effec- 8 tiveness of such services in meeting the needs of 9 LGBT older individuals’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(g) The Assistant Secretary is authorized to des- 12 ignate within the Administration a person to have respon- 13 sibility for addressing issues affecting LGBT older individ- 14 uals.’’. 15 (b) FUNCTIONS OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—Section 16 202 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012) 17 is amended— 18 (1) in subsection (a)— 19 (A) in paragraph (16)(A)(ii), by inserting 20 ‘‘, and separately specifying the number of such 21 individuals who are LGBT individuals’’ before 22 the semicolon; 23 (B) in paragraph (30), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 24 and inserting a semicolon; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1777 IH (C) in paragraph (31), by striking the pe- 1 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 2 (D) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(32) conduct studies and collect data to deter- 4 mine the services that are needed by LGBT older in- 5 dividuals.’’; and 6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(g)(1) The Assistant Secretary shall, directly or by 8 grant or contract, establish and operate the National Re- 9 source Center on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 10 Transgender Aging (in this subsection referred to as the 11 ‘Center’). 12 ‘‘(2) To address the unique challenges faced by 13 LGBT older individuals, the Center shall provide national, 14 State, and local organizations, including those with a pri- 15 mary mission of serving LGBT individuals and those with 16 a primary mission of serving older individuals, with the 17 information and technical assistance the organizations 18 need to effectively serve LGBT older individuals. 19 ‘‘(3) The Center shall have 3 primary objectives, con- 20 sisting of— 21 ‘‘(A) educating aging services organizations 22 about the existence and special needs of LGBT older 23 individuals; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(B) sensitizing LGBT organizations about the 1 existence and special needs of older individuals; and 2 ‘‘(C) providing educational resources to LGBT 3 older individuals and their caregivers. 4 ‘‘(4)(A) To be eligible to receive funds under this sub- 5 section, an entity— 6 ‘‘(i) shall have demonstrated expertise in work- 7 ing with organizations or individuals on issues af- 8 fecting LGBT individuals; 9 ‘‘(ii) shall have documented experience in pro- 10 viding training and technical assistance on a na- 11 tional basis or a formal relationship with an organi- 12 zation that has that experience; and 13 ‘‘(iii) shall meet such other criteria as the As- 14 sistant Secretary shall issue. 15 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to receive funds under this sub- 16 section, an entity shall submit an application to the Assist- 17 ant Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 18 taining such information as the Assistant Secretary may 19 require. 20 ‘‘(5) The Assistant Secretary shall make available to 21 the Center on an annual basis such resources as are nec- 22 essary for the Center to carry out effectively the functions 23 of the Center under this Act and not less than the amount 24 of resources made available to the National Resource Cen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1777 IH ter on LGBT Aging, existing on the day before the date 1 of enactment of the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder 2 Americans Act of 2017, for fiscal year 2018. 3 ‘‘(6) The Assistant Secretary shall develop and issue 4 operating standards and reporting requirements for the 5 Center.’’. 6 (c) REPORTS.—Section 207 of the Older Americans 7 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3018) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ‘‘LGBT 9 individuals,’’ after ‘‘low-income individuals,’’; 10 (2) in subsection (c)— 11 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, and 12 separately specify the number of such individ- 13 uals who are LGBT individuals’’ before the 14 semicolon; 15 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 16 (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 17 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 18 following: 19 ‘‘(4) the effectiveness of such activities in as- 20 sisting LGBT individuals;’’; and 21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(d) The Assistant Secretary shall ensure that— 23 ‘‘(1) no individual will be required to provide in- 24 formation regarding the sexual orientation or gender 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1777 IH identity of the individual as a condition of partici- 1 pating in activities or receiving services under this 2 Act; and 3 ‘‘(2) no agency or other entity providing activi- 4 ties or services under this Act that receives, for the 5 purposes of this Act, information regarding the sex- 6 ual orientation or gender identity of an individual 7 will disclose the information in any form that would 8 permit such individual to be identified. 9 ‘‘(e) The Assistant Secretary shall develop appro- 10 priate protocols, demonstrations, tools, or guidance for use 11 by State agencies and area agencies on aging, to ensure 12 successful implementation of data collection requirements 13 under section 201(d)(3)(J), paragraphs (16)(A)(ii) and 14 (29) of section 202(a), subsections (a)(3), (c)(1), and 15 (c)(4), and section 307(a)(6), relating to LGBT individ- 16 uals. 17 ‘‘(f) The Assistant Secretary shall determine when 18 the data collection requirements described in subsection 19 (e) shall apply, taking into consideration the complexity 20 and importance of each requirement, but each requirement 21 shall apply not later than 1 year after the date of enact- 22 ment of the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans 23 Act of 2017.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1777 IH SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATE AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS 1 ON AGING. 2 Section 301(a)(2) of the Older Americans Act of 3 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3021(a)(2)) is amended— 4 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 5 and inserting a semicolon; 6 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as sub- 7 paragraph (G); and 8 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(F) organizations that serve LGBT indi- 11 viduals; and’’. 12 SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES FOR HEALTH, INDEPENDENCE, AND 13 LONGEVITY. 14 Section 411(a)(11) of the Older Americans Act of 15 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3032(a)(11)) is amended to read as fol- 16 lows: 17 ‘‘(11) conducting activities of national signifi- 18 cance to promote quality and continuous improve- 19 ment in the support and services provided to individ- 20 uals with greatest social need, through activities that 21 include needs assessment, program development and 22 evaluation, training, technical assistance, and re- 23 search, concerning— 24 ‘‘(A) addressing physical and mental 25 health, disabilities, and health disparities; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1777 IH ‘‘(B) providing long-term care, including 1 in-home and community-based care; 2 ‘‘(C) providing informal care, and formal 3 care in a facility setting; 4 ‘‘(D) providing access to culturally respon- 5 sive health and human services; and 6 ‘‘(E) addressing other gaps in assistance 7 and issues that the Assistant Secretary deter- 8 mines are of particular importance to older in- 9 dividuals with greatest social need.’’. 10 SEC. 6. DATA ON DISCRIMINATION. 11 Section 712 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 12 U.S.C. 3058g) is amended— 13 (1) in subsection (a)(3)— 14 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 15 through (J) as subparagraphs (G) through (K); 16 and 17 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 18 the following: 19 ‘‘(F) collect and analyze data, relating to 20 discrimination against LGBT older individuals 21 on the basis of actual or perceived sexual ori- 22 entation or gender identity in the admission to, 23 transfer or discharge from, or lack of adequate 24 care provided in long-term care settings, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1777 IH shall include the analyses in the reports de- 1 scribed in subsection (h)(1);’’; and 2 (2) in subsection (h)(6), in the matter pre- 3 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(A) through 4 (G)’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) through (H)’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS