Elder Pride Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1225 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish the Office of Older LGBT Policy and a rural outreach grant program carried out by such Office, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 29, 2019 Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish the Office of Older LGBT Policy and a rural outreach grant program carried out by such Office, 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 ‘‘Elder Pride Act of 4 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 7 U.S.C. 3002) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1225 IS (1) by redesignating paragraphs (34) through 1 (40) and paragraphs (41) through (54) as para- 2 graphs (35) through (41) and paragraphs (43) 3 through (56), respectively; 4 (2) by inserting after paragraph (33) the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(34) The term ‘LGBT’ means lesbian, gay, bi- 7 sexual, or transgender.’’; and 8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (41), as so re- 9 designated, the following: 10 ‘‘(42) The term ‘older LGBT individual’ means 11 an older individual that identifies as LGBT.’’. 12 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF OLDER LGBT POLICY. 13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 201 of the Older 15 Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011) is amend- 16 ed by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(g)(1) There is established in the Administration an 18 Office of Older LGBT Policy (referred to in this sub- 19 section as the ‘Office’). 20 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director of the 21 Office of Older LGBT Policy (referred to in this sub- 22 section as the ‘Director’) who shall be appointed by the 23 Assistant Secretary. 24 ‘‘(3) The Director shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1225 IS ‘‘(A) coordinate activities within the Depart- 1 ment of Health and Human Services, and between 2 other Federal departments and agencies, to assure a 3 continuum of improved services for older LGBT in- 4 dividuals; 5 ‘‘(B) serve as the effective and visible advocate 6 on behalf of older LGBT individuals— 7 ‘‘(i) within the Department of Health and 8 Human Services and with other departments 9 and agencies of the Federal Government re- 10 garding all Federal policies affecting such indi- 11 viduals; and 12 ‘‘(ii) in the States to promote the enhanced 13 delivery of services and implementation of pro- 14 grams, under this Act and other Federal Acts, 15 for the benefit of such individuals; 16 ‘‘(C) support, conduct, and arrange for research 17 in the field of LGBT aging with a special emphasis 18 on gathering statistics on older LGBT individuals; 19 ‘‘(D) collect and disseminate information re- 20 lated to challenges experienced by older LGBT indi- 21 viduals with an emphasis on the challenges experi- 22 enced by older LGBT individuals residing in rural 23 areas and older LGBT individuals living with human 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1225 IS immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune defi- 1 ciency syndrome (HIV/AIDS); 2 ‘‘(E) recommend policies and priorities bene- 3 ficial to older LGBT individuals and promote the 4 implementation and adoption of culturally competent 5 care and services for such individuals; and 6 ‘‘(F) administer and evaluate grants that will 7 help older LGBT individuals, including grants under 8 section 423. 9 ‘‘(4) Not later than 5 years after the date of enact- 10 ment of the Elder Pride Act of 2019, and every 5 years 11 thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a report 12 describing the activities carried out under this subsection 13 during the preceding 5 fiscal years.’’. 14 SEC. 4. RURAL OUTREACH GRANT PROGRAM. 15 Part A of title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1965 16 (42 U.S.C. 3032 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 17 the following: 18 ‘‘SEC. 423. RURAL OUTREACH GRANT PROGRAM. 19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 21 the Director of the Office of Older LGBT Policy, es- 22 tablished under section 201(g). 23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 24 tity’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1225 IS ‘‘(A) means an entity that submits an ap- 1 plication to the Director in accordance with 2 subsection (d), and is— 3 ‘‘(i) a State; or 4 ‘‘(ii) an agency, organization, or insti- 5 tution that focuses on serving the needs of 6 older individuals or LGBT individuals; and 7 ‘‘(B) may include an area agency on aging 8 for a rural area or a multipurpose senior cen- 9 ter. 10 ‘‘(3) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 11 means an area that is not designated by the United 12 States Census Bureau as an urbanized area or 13 urban cluster. 14 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 15 provide eligible entities with resources and incentives to 16 devise a long-term comprehensive strategy for connecting 17 with older LGBT individuals residing in rural areas and 18 meeting the needs of such individuals. 19 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY FOR GRANTS.—The Director may, 20 for the purpose described in subsection (b), make grants 21 to eligible entities to carry out activities approved by the 22 Director in accordance with subsection (e). 23 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1225 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking a 1 grant under this section shall submit an application 2 to the Director at such time, in such manner, and 3 containing such information as the Director may 4 reasonably require, including the contents described 5 in paragraph (2). 6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application for a grant 7 under this section shall contain— 8 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed activi- 9 ties to be supported by the grant; 10 ‘‘(B) a description of the size and charac- 11 teristics of the population in a rural area served 12 by such activities; 13 ‘‘(C) a description of the public and private 14 resources expected to be made available in con- 15 nection with such activities; 16 ‘‘(D) a demonstrated intent to partner 17 with local organizations in rural areas in car- 18 rying out such activities; 19 ‘‘(E) evidence in a form acceptable to the 20 Director that such activities will meet urgent 21 needs that are not met by available public and 22 private sources; and 23 ‘‘(F) such other information or certifi- 24 cations that the Director determines necessary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1225 IS to achieve the purpose described in subsection 1 (b). 2 ‘‘(e) APPROVED ACTIVITIES.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 4 shall be available only for activities approved by the 5 Director to carry out a strategy designed to create 6 a cooperative and lasting partnership between older 7 LGBT individuals residing in rural areas and the el- 8 igible entity receiving the grant. 9 ‘‘(2) APPROVED ACTIVITIES.—Activities ap- 10 proved by the Director may include initiatives that— 11 ‘‘(A) engage in education and training 12 around community outreach to older LGBT in- 13 dividuals residing in rural areas; 14 ‘‘(B) reduce isolation and improve access 15 to care for older LGBT individuals residing in 16 rural areas by building relationships between 17 such individuals and the local community; 18 ‘‘(C) foster relationships between local 19 LGBT-affirming service providers and older 20 LGBT individuals residing in rural areas; 21 ‘‘(D) improve LGBT cultural competency 22 among organizations and personnel providing 23 services to older individuals residing in rural 24 areas; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1225 IS ‘‘(E) expand the use of nondiscrimination 1 policies that— 2 ‘‘(i) protect sexual orientation and 3 gender identity; and 4 ‘‘(ii) create community spaces that are 5 inclusive to older LGBT individuals. 6 ‘‘(f) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—The Director 7 shall establish standards and guidelines for approved ac- 8 tivities supported by a grant under this section. Such 9 standards and guidelines shall permit an eligible entity re- 10 ceiving such a grant to refine or adapt the standards and 11 guidelines for an individual project, where such a refine- 12 ment or adaptation is made necessary by a local cir- 13 cumstance. 14 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION WITH LOCAL ENTITIES.— 15 ‘‘(1) COOPERATION.—An eligible entity receiv- 16 ing a grant under this section shall, in carrying out 17 the approved activities supported by the grant, agree 18 to cooperate and coordinate with— 19 ‘‘(A) the agencies of the relevant State and 20 local governments responsible for providing 21 services to older LGBT individuals in the area 22 served by such activities; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1225 IS ‘‘(B) other public and private organizations 1 and agencies providing services for older LGBT 2 individuals in such area. 3 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION.—An eligible entity re- 4 ceiving a grant under this section shall prioritize co- 5 operating and coordinating with public and private 6 organizations and agencies that primarily serve eco- 7 nomically underserved populations, as determined by 8 the Director. 9 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the 10 date of enactment of the Elder Pride Act of 2019, and 11 every 2 years thereafter, the Director shall submit to Con- 12 gress a report describing the activities carried out under 13 this section during the preceding 2 fiscal years.’’. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1225.IS S1225 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS