I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1583 

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 and 

individuals with disabilities to live independently and safely in a home 

environment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Mr. MORELLE (for himself, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mrs. RODGERS of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and Labor 

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 and individuals with disabilities 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 and Disability 

5 Home Modification 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 AND DIS6 ABILITY HOME MODIFICA7 TION ASSISTANCE INITIATIVE 

8 ‘‘SEC. 801. SENIOR AND DISABILITY HOME MODIFICATION 

9 ASSISTANCE INITIATIVE. 

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 and individuals with disabilities 

14 to support enabling such individuals to live independently 

15 and safely in a home environment. 

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 and Dis22 ability Home Modification Assistance Initiative Act that 

23 support home assessments and home modifications for 

24 older individuals and individuals with disabilities. 

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

26 of enactment of the Senior and Disability Home ModificaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1583.IH H1583

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1 tion Assistance Initiative Act, and annually thereafter, the 

2 Assistant Secretary 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 and individuals with disabilities; 

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

7 data on the number of older individuals and individ8 uals with disabilities served by each Federal pro9 gram described in paragraph (1) and the approxi10 mate amount of Federal funding invested in each 

11 such program; 

12 ‘‘(3) a demographic analysis of individuals 

13 served by each such program during the fiscal year 

14 of the report; 

15 ‘‘(4) an analysis of duplication and gaps in pop16 ulations supported by the Federal programs de17 scribed in paragraph (1); and 

18 ‘‘(5) an evaluation of the impact of Federal 

19 home modification efforts and programs on health 

20 status and health outcomes in populations supported 

21 by such efforts and programs. 

22 ‘‘(d) LOCAL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

24 shall, through the National Eldercare Locator Serv25 ice established under section 202(a)(21) and in coVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1583.IH H1583

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1 operation with centers for independent living de2 scribed in part C of title VII of the Rehabilitation 

3 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et seq.), identify and 

4 publish an educational brochure on home modifica5 tions and repairs for use by older individuals at6 tempting to live independently and safely in their 

7 homes and the caregivers of such individuals. 

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

9 under paragraph (1) shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) be written in consumer-friendly lan11 guage; 

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

13 home modifications to ensure a safe living envi14 ronment as individuals age; 

15 ‘‘(C) include simple advice on common 

16 types of home modification that boost safety 

17 and livability; and 

18 ‘‘(D) include references to Federal re19 sources available to help offset the cost of home 

20 repairs or modifications and where those re21 sources can typically be accessed locally. 

22 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The brochure pub24 lished under paragraph (1) shall be distributed 

25 widely throughout the aging network, using the 


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1 National Eldercare Locator Service, with State 

2 agencies, area agencies on aging, and commu3 nity-based service providers disseminating the 

4 brochure to older individuals and caregivers. 

5 ‘‘(B) CUSTOMIZATION.—The Assistant 

6 Secretary shall encourage State agencies, area 

7 agencies on aging, and community-based service 

8 providers to customize the brochure to include 

9 available non-Federal resources. 

10 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

12 as may be necessary for the production and dissemi13 nation of the brochure published under paragraph 

14 (1). 

15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION OF INDIVIDUAL WITH A DIS16 ABILITY.—In this title, the term ‘individual with a dis17 ability’ has the meaning given such term in section 3 of 

18 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

19 12102).’’. 

Æ 


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