Strengthening Social Connections Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4477 Making emergency supplemental appropriations for social isolation services under the Older Americans Act of 1965. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 6, 2020 Ms. SMITH (for herself and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations A BILL Making emergency supplemental appropriations for social isolation services under the Older Americans Act of 1965. 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 ‘‘Strengthening Social 4 Connections Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS. 6 The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of 7 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 8 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and for 9 other purposes, namely: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4477.IS S4477 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4477 IS 1 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 2 SERVICES 3 ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING 4 AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS 5 For an additional amount for ‘‘Aging and Disability 6 Services Programs’’, for carrying out the Older Americans 7 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (‘‘OAA’’), 8 $104,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 9 2022, of which— 10 (1) $80,000,000 shall be made available for 11 supportive services under part B of title III of such 12 Act (42 U.S.C. 3030d et seq.), provided that such 13 amount made available under this paragraph shall 14 be made available for prevention and mitigation ac- 15 tivities focused on addressing extended social isola- 16 tion among older individuals, which may include ac- 17 tivities for investments in technological equipment 18 and solutions or other strategies aimed at alleviating 19 the negative health effects of social isolation due to 20 long-term stay-at-home recommendations for older 21 individuals for the duration of the coronavirus pan- 22 demic; 23 (2) $18,000,000 shall be made available for ac- 24 tivities authorized under sections 202(a)(33), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4477.IS S4477 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4477 IS 202(b)(11), and 411(a)(18) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1 3012(a)(33), 3012(b)(11), and 3032(a)(18)), pro- 2 vided that such amount made available under this 3 paragraph shall be made available for— 4 (A) technical assistance to State agencies, 5 area agencies on aging, aging services and nu- 6 trition providers, and other community groups, 7 to reduce the negative health effects of social 8 isolation and loneliness among older individuals 9 by promoting social engagement; and 10 (B) coordinated efforts to prioritize activi- 11 ties that prevent and address social isolation 12 and loneliness among a wide range of older in- 13 dividuals, including activities for strategies that 14 identify best practices, support demonstration 15 of innovative approaches in the aging services 16 network, conduct public education, develop 17 partnerships and collaborations to advance pro- 18 gram objectives, or enhance the capacity of the 19 aging network, and other activities as appro- 20 priate to mitigate social isolation and loneliness 21 among older individuals; and 22 (3) $6,000,000 shall be made available for 23 aging network support activities, provided that such 24 amount made available under this paragraph shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4477.IS S4477 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4477 IS be used to develop targeted outreach strategies to 1 reach particularly at-risk populations, including— 2 (A) populations targeted under section 3 306(a)(4)(A)(i)(I) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4 3026(a)(4)(A)(i)(I)); and 5 (B) older individuals whose needs were the 6 focus of centers funded under title IV of such 7 Act (42 U.S.C. 3031 et seq.) for fiscal year 8 2019: 9 Provided, That, notwithstanding section 304(d)(1)(D) of 10 the OAA (42 U.S.C. 3024(d)(1)(D)) or any other provi- 11 sion in such Act, the requirement for a non-Federal share 12 under such section shall not apply for fiscal year 2021 13 with respect to services under part B of title III of such 14 Act: Provided further, That the amount appropriated 15 under this heading is designated by Congress as being for 16 an emergency requirement pursuant to section 17 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 18 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4477.IS S4477 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS