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. 

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 ‘‘Strengthening Social 

5 Connections Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of 

8 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

9 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and for 

10 other purposes, namely: 


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2 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 

3 SERVICES 

4 ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING

5 AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS

6 For an additional amount for ‘‘Aging and Disability 

7 Services Programs’’, for carrying out the Older Americans 

8 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (‘‘OAA’’), 

9 $104,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 

10 2022, of which— 

11 (1) $80,000,000 shall be made available for 

12 supportive services under part B of title III of such 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 3030d et seq.), provided that such 

14 amount made available under this paragraph shall 

15 be made available for prevention and mitigation ac16 tivities focused on addressing extended social isola17 tion among older individuals, which may include ac18 tivities for investments in technological equipment 

19 and solutions or other strategies aimed at alleviating 

20 the negative health effects of social isolation due to 

21 long-term stay-at-home recommendations for older 

22 individuals for the duration of the coronavirus pan23 demic; 

24 (2) $18,000,000 shall be made available for ac25 tivities authorized under sections 202(a)(33), 


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1 202(b)(11), and 411(a)(18) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 3012(a)(33), 3012(b)(11), and 3032(a)(18)), pro3 vided that such amount made available under this 

4 paragraph shall be made available for— 

5 (A) technical assistance to State agencies, 

6 area agencies on aging, aging services and nu7 trition providers, and other community groups, 

8 to reduce the negative health effects of social 

9 isolation and loneliness among older individuals 

10 by promoting social engagement; and 

11 (B) coordinated efforts to prioritize activi12 ties that prevent and address social isolation 

13 and loneliness among a wide range of older in14 dividuals, including activities for strategies that 

15 identify best practices, support demonstration 

16 of innovative approaches in the aging services 

17 network, conduct public education, develop 

18 partnerships and collaborations to advance pro19 gram objectives, or enhance the capacity of the 

20 aging network, and other activities as appro21 priate to mitigate social isolation and loneliness 

22 among older individuals; and 

23 (3) $6,000,000 shall be made available for 

24 aging network support activities, provided that such 

25 amount made available under this paragraph shall 


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1 be used to develop targeted outreach strategies to 

2 reach particularly at-risk populations, including— 

3 (A) populations targeted under section 

4 306(a)(4)(A)(i)(I) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 3026(a)(4)(A)(i)(I)); and 

6 (B) older individuals whose needs were the 

7 focus of centers funded under title IV of such 

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 3031 et seq.) for fiscal year 

9 2019: 

10 Provided, That, notwithstanding section 304(d)(1)(D) of 

11 the OAA (42 U.S.C. 3024(d)(1)(D)) or any other provi12 sion in such Act, the requirement for a non-Federal share 

13 under such section shall not apply for fiscal year 2021 

14 with respect to services under part B of title III of such 

15 Act: Provided further, That the amount appropriated 

16 under this heading is designated by Congress as being for 

17 an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

18 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

19 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

Æ 


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