II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 913 

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 to live 

independently and safely in a home environment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 24, 2017 

Mr. KING (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. SCHATZ) 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 

an initiative, carried out by the Assistant Secretary for 

Aging, to coordinate Federal efforts and programs for 

home modifications enabling older individuals to live 

independently and safely in a home environment, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senior Home Modifica5 tion Assistance Initiative Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SENIOR HOME MODIFICATION ASSISTANCE INITIA2 TIVE. 

3 The Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 

4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘TITLE VIII—SENIOR HOME 

6 MODIFICATION ASSISTANCE 

7 INITIATIVE 

8 ‘‘SEC. 801. SENIOR HOME MODIFICATION ASSISTANCE INI9 TIATIVE. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall es11 tablish and carry out an initiative under this section to 

12 coordinate Federal resources to provide home modifica13 tions for older individuals to support enabling such indi14 viduals to live independently and safely in a home environ15 ment. 

16 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL EFFORTS.—In 

17 carrying out the initiative under this section, the Assistant 

18 Secretary shall, through memoranda of understanding, 

19 agreements, or other appropriate means of coordination, 

20 coordinate all Federal efforts and Federal programs exist21 ing prior to the date of enactment of the Senior Home 

22 Modification Assistance Initiative Act that support home 

23 assessments and home modifications for older individuals. 

24 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

25 of enactment of the Senior Home Modification Assistance 


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1 Initiative Act, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Sec2 retary shall publish a report that includes— 

3 ‘‘(1) an inventory of Federal programs that 

4 support home assessments and home modifications 

5 for older individuals; 

6 ‘‘(2) for the fiscal year of the report, statistical 

7 data on the number of older individuals served by 

8 each Federal program described in paragraph (1) 

9 and the approximate amount of Federal funding in10 vested in each 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 pop15 ulations supported by the Federal programs de16 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 Serv24 ice established under section 202(a)(21), identify 

25 and publish an educational brochure on home modiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Apr 24, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S913.IS S913

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1 fications and repairs for use by older individuals at2 tempting to live independently and safely in their 

3 homes and the caregivers of such individuals. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The brochure published 

5 under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) be written in consumer-friendly lan7 guage; 

8 ‘‘(B) include information on the value of 

9 home modifications to ensure a safe living envi10 ronment as individuals age; 

11 ‘‘(C) include simple advice on common 

12 types of home modification that boost safety 

13 and livability; and 

14 ‘‘(D) include references to Federal re15 sources available to help offset the cost of home 

16 repairs or modifications and where those re17 sources can typically be accessed locally. 

18 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The brochure pub20 lished under paragraph (1) shall be distributed 

21 widely throughout the aging network, using the 

22 National Eldercare Locator Service, with State 

23 agencies, area agencies on aging, and commu24 nity-based service providers disseminating the 

25 brochure to older individuals and caregivers. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CUSTOMIZATION.—The Assistant 

2 Secretary shall encourage State agencies, area 

3 agencies on aging, and community-based service 

4 providers to customize the brochure to include 

5 available non-Federal resources. 

6 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

8 as may be necessary for the production and dissemi9 nation of the brochure published under paragraph 

10 (1).’’. 

Æ 


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