49–010 

Calendar No. 285 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 109–178 

MEETING THE HOUSING AND SERVICE NEEDS OF 

SENIORS ACT OF 2005 

NOVEMBER 15, 2005.—and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SHELBY, from the Committee on Banking, Housing and 

Urban Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 705 ] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to 

which was referred the bill (S. 705) to establish the Interagency 

Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors, and 

for other purposes, reports favorably thereon with an amendment, 

and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

On July 28, 2005 the Committee voted unanimously to report the 

bill to the Senate. 

HEARING RECORD AND WITNESSES

On June 16, 2005 the Committee heard from a variety of witnesses on their views of S. 705, a bill to establish an Interagency 

Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors. 

The Committee heard from the Honorable Alphonso Jackson, 

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

In addition, the Committee heard from: Ms. Nelda Barnett, 

Board Member, AARP; Ms. Dana Jo Olson, Executive Director, 

Laurel Manor Senior Residence (CO), appearing on behalf of Volunteers of America; Mr. Steve Proctor, Pennsylvania Non-Profit Housing Association and President, Presbyterian Homes; Dr. William T. 

Smith, President of American Association of Homes and Services 

for the Aging (NY); Mr. Terry Allton, Vice President of Support 

Services, National Church Residences and Chairman, American Association of Service Coordinators (OH); Mr. Steve Protulis, ExecuVerDate Aug 31 2005 10:10 Nov 18, 2005 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR178.XXX SR178
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tive Director, Elderly Housing Development & Operations Corporation (FL); and Mr. David G. Wood, United States Government Accountability Office. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The senior population in the United States is growing rapidly, 

and is expected to reach 50 million by the year 2020. By the year 

2030, over one-fifth of the U.S. population will be over 65 years of 

age. In recognition of the need to plan for this population, in 1999, 

Congress established the Commission on Affordable Housing and 

Health Facility Needs for Seniors (‘‘Seniors Commission’’). This 

Commission was created to study and report back to Congress on 

the housing and health needs of seniors, and to make specific policy 

and legislative recommendations on how these needs could be met. 

On June 30, 2002, the Seniors Commission presented its findings 

to Congress, which contained vital information about seniors and 

made a number of recommendations. The Seniors Commission 

found that seniors need a wide variety of housing opportunities 

which link housing and services. Over 18 percent of seniors (over 

5.8 million) who do not reside in nursing facilities have difficulty 

performing their daily activities and over one million of these seniors require assistance with many of their basic tasks. The Seniors 

Commission reported that for many seniors, service-enriched housing opportunities are needed to avoid premature institutionalization. 

Despite the overwhelming desire of seniors to remain in their 

homes and out of institutionalized settings, the Seniors Commission found that ‘‘many seniors across the income spectrum are at 

risk of institutionalization or neglect due to declining health and 

loss or absence of support and timely interventions.’’ 

There are numerous federal programs which can assist seniors in 

meeting their needs. However, the programs and benefits are fragmented across several agencies and departments, creating a confusing maze of bureaucracies for seniors and their families to navigate in order to access needed housing and supportive services. The 

Seniors Commission documented this fragmentation in their report, 

and found that ‘‘the most striking characteristic of seniors’’ housing 

and health care in this country is the disconnection of one field 

from another.’’ The Commission concluded that ‘‘the time has come 

for coordination among Federal and State agencies and administrators.’’ 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION

S. 705 establishes the Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors. The Council is comprised of the 

highest level officials who oversee the various programs that serve 

seniors. The Committee believes that this will ensure that Council 

recommendations will be endorsed by those who have decisionmaking authority over the various programs, and therefore it is the 

hope of the Committee that any recommendations made by the 

Council will be quickly accepted and implemented. 

The Council will be comprised of the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Secretaries, or 

designees of the Department of Agriculture, Labor, Transportation, 

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Veterans Affairs, and the Treasury. Also serving on the Council 

will be the following (or their designees): the Commissioner of the 

Social Security Administration, the Administrator of the Centers 

for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administrator of the 

Administration on Aging. In order to ensure that state and local 

perspectives are considered, the Council will also have three additional members- a Governor, a Mayor and a local official, as appointed by the President. These state and local representatives are 

not to be considered federal employees. 

While most of the federal officials serving on the Council will be 

able to appoint a designee to the Council, the legislation does not 

allow the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Housing and 

Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services to appoint a designee. The Committee believes 

that in order to truly coordinate housing and services, these two 

Secretaries and Departments must be fully involved in the collaborative process. The Committee believes that this Council will be 

helpful in allowing these Secretaries and the Departments they 

oversee to better serve a large segment of their clients- senior citizens. Each of these two Secretaries will serve as Chair for rotating 

two year periods. 

The Council will work primarily to coordinate federal departments and agencies so that seniors are better served, and can more 

easily age in place or find alternative suitable living arrangements. 

The Council will help to ensure that seniors and their families have 

access to better information and programs, so that seniors can easily access housing linked with services. The Council will work to 

ensure ongoing collaboration among and within agencies that serve 

seniors, and will serve as a permanent national platform to address 

the needs and issues of our aging population as that population 

continues to grow. 

In order to carry out its objectives, the Council will have meetings, hold hearings to gather input from interested stakeholders, 

undertake a thorough review of programs for seniors and assess 

the actual needs of seniors around the country. The Council will 

meet no less than four times a year. Regular meetings of the Council will help to avoid the problems experienced by the Interagency 

Council on Homelessness, where the Interagency Council on Homelessness was inactive for a number of years. The Committee believes it is important, especially in getting the Seniors Council established, that the Council meet regularly to establish an agenda, 

procedures, ethics guidelines, and timelines for hearings and activities. Since this is a large time commitment, the Committee expects 

the Council to adopt internal guidelines and policies to ensure that 

these requirements are not overly burdensome on any members, including the Chair. These policies may allow someone other than 

the Chair to oversee Member meetings. In addition, the Committee 

expects the Council to appoint a qualified Executive Director and 

hire staff so that the day-to-day activities of the Council can be carried out effectively. 

After holding hearings, assessing programs and needs, identifying best practices, and collecting relevant data, the Council will 

make recommendations to Congress about administrative and legislative changes that should be made so that existing resources are 

maximized and programs are effective, duplication is reduced or 

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eliminated, and programs and services can be easily pieced together. 

While the focus of the Council is coordination of the federal programs, the Committee understands that federal programs and services are only one part of the much larger solution to meeting the 

needs of seniors. The Council must work with State, local and private partners in order to adequately prepare for the needs of the 

growing elderly population. Under this bill, the Council is required 

to hold individual meetings with State representatives, provide ongoing technical assistance and work with States so that each State 

identifies a liaison to work with the Council on an ongoing basis. 

Each year, the Council will prepare a report to Congress on the 

barriers and impediments to addressing the needs of seniors, the 

efforts made by each agency to increase opportunities for seniors to 

find service enriched housing, as well as the efforts to coordinate 

with other programs. Each agency which serves seniors is required 

to provide information to the Council annually, and on an ongoing 

basis, as necessary, to ensure that the Council is able to perform 

its duties and meet its obligations. The Committee envisions that 

the Council as part of the executive branch will work with the 

President as other federal agencies do prior to reporting to Congress and making administrative and legislative recommendations. 

The bill authorizes $1.5 million per year for 5 years so that the 

Council can carry out its activities. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

This section establishes the title of the bill, the ‘‘Meeting the 

Housing and Service Needs of Seniors Act of 2005’’ 

Section 2. Congressional findings 

This section states Congressional Findings, including: 

(1) The senior population (persons 65 or older) in this country is rapidly growing, and is expected to increase from 

34,700,000 in 2000 to nearly 40,000,000 by 2010, and then will 

dramatically increase to over 50,000,000 by 2020. 

(2) Seniors need access to a wide array of housing options, 

such as affordable assisted living, in home care, supportive or 

service-enriched housing, and retrofitted homes and apartments to allow seniors to age in place and to avoid premature 

placement in institutional settings. 

(3) While there are many programs in place to assist seniors 

in finding and affording suitable housing and accessing needed 

services, these programs are fragmented and spread across 

many agencies, making it difficult for seniors to access assistance or to receive comprehensive information. 

(4) Better coordination among Federal agencies is needed, as 

is better coordination at State and local levels, to ensure that 

seniors can access government activities, programs, services, 

and benefits in an effective and efficient manner. 

Section 3. Definitions 

This section provides definitions of the following terms: ‘‘housing,’’ ‘‘service,’’ ‘‘program,’’ ‘‘Council,’’ and ‘‘senior.’’ 

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Section 4. Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service 

Needs of Seniors 

This section establishes a high level executive branch Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors. 

This section also lays out the objectives of the Council, including 

promoting coordination and collaboration among the federal agencies and departments which serve seniors; identifying housing and 

service needs of seniors; facilitating the aging in place of seniors; 

making recommendations about needed changes to maximize the 

impact of existing programs, reduce duplication and increase access 

to programs and services. 

This section details the Council membership—the Secretaries of 

HUD and HHS, as well as the Secretaries or designees of the Department of Agriculture, Labor, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, 

and the Treasury. Also serving on the Council will be the following 

(or their designees): the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and 

Medicaid Services and the Administrator of the Administration on 

Aging. The Council will also have three additional members—a 

Governor, a Mayor and a local official, as appointed by the President. This section establishes that the Secretaries of HUD and 

HHS will chair the Council in rotating 2-year terms. Under this 

section, the Council is required to meet quarterly, and must hold 

at least 2 meetings a year with stakeholders and interested parties. 

This requirement can be met by opening at least two of the quarterly meetings to the public. 

Section 5. Functions of the Council 

This section lists the activities that the Council will undertake 

in meeting its objectives. In meeting its objectives, the Council will: 

review all federal programs and services that assist seniors; monitor, evaluate and recommend improvements in existing programs, 

and how programs can be better coordinated; recommend ways to 

reduce duplication and ensure greater collaboration; work to facilitate the aging in place of seniors; work with states to ensure programs and services are coordinated at state and local levels; identify best practices for meeting the needs of seniors; ensure seniors 

have access to information about programs and services, including 

the establishment of a website; and maintain updated data sources 

on seniors and their needs. 

This section also requires that each agency or department that 

is a member of the Council provide a report to the Council that describes: each program in the agency or department that serves a 

substantial number of seniors; any barriers to the access and use 

of such programs; the efforts made by the agency in increasing 

service enriched housing opportunities for seniors; and any new 

data relating to housing and service needs of seniors. 

Based on the information provided by each member agency, the 

Council is required to prepare and transmit a report to Congress 

and the President that summarizes the agency information; assesses the needs of seniors; provides a comprehensive description 

of the programs and services that exist for seniors; describes how 

the agencies and Council are working with state and local governments and private organizations to better coordinate senior proVerDate Aug 31 2005 10:10 Nov 18, 2005 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR178.XXX SR178
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grams; and makes recommendations for legislative and administrative changes needed to better meet the needs of seniors. 

Section 6. Powers of the Council 

This section details how the Council will work, including granting the Council the power to hold hearings and take testimony as 

needed. In addition, this section provides that member agencies 

must provide the Council with all requested information. This section also requires the Council to adopt internal ethics guidelines. 

Section 7. Council Personnel Matters 

This section clarifies that Council members shall not be compensated for their service on the Council. Under this section, the 

Council must appoint an Executive Director at its initial meeting, 

and the Executive Director, with the approval of the Council may 

hire staff. 

This section also requires the Secretaries of the U.S. Department 

of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services to provide all necessary administrative support including office space and computer/internet access. 

Section 8. Authorization of Appropriations 

This section authorizes $1.5 million per year for 5 years for the 

Council. 

COST OF THE LEGISLATION

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 5, 2005. 

Hon. RICHARD C. SHELBY, 

Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 705, the Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors Act of 2005. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Jimin Chung and Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

S. 705.—Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors Act of 

2005 

Summary: CBO estimates that implementing S. 705 would cost $7.5 million over the 2006–2010 period, assuming appropriation of 

the authorized amounts for those years. Enacting S. 705 would not 

affect direct spending or receipts. The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, 

local, or tribal governments. 

S. 705 would establish the Interagency Council on Meeting the 

Housing and Service Needs of Seniors and would authorize the appropriation of $1.5 million for each fiscal year through 2010. The 

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Council would work to improve the collaboration and coordination 

between federal departments and agencies that provide senior citizens with housing, health care, and other related services. 

The Council would be composed of at least 13 members, including 10 from federal agencies, and led by the Secretaries of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department 

of Health and Human Services. Members of the Council would 

serve without compensation. However, the Council would be authorized to appoint an executive director, who could hire temporary 

staff and provide other services as authorized by law. Federal agencies also could provide technical and administrative support. CBO 

estimates that the costs incurred by federal agencies would not be 

significant. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jimin Chung and 

Matthew Pickford. This estimate was approved by Peter H. 

Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW (CORDON RULE)

On July 28, 2005, the Committee unanimously approved a motion by Senator Shelby to waive the Cordon rule. Thus, in the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to dispense with the requirement of section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate 

in order to expedite the business of the Senate. 

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