II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 716 

To establish a Consortium on the Impact of Technology in Aging Health 

Services. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2007 

Mr. COLEMAN (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. SMITH, and Mr. 

KOHL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a Consortium on the Impact of Technology 

in Aging Health Services. 

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 ‘‘Consortium on the Im5 pact of Technology in Aging Health Services Act of 

6 2007’’. 

7 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSORTIUM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Con9 sortium to be known as the ‘‘Consortium on the Impact 


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1 of Technology in Aging Health Services’’ (referred to in 

2 this Act as the ‘‘Consortium’’). 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Consortium is to 

4 evaluate the potential of new technologies to help the 

5 United States prepare for the unprecedented demographic 

6 changes that will occur during the next 10 years in the 

7 Nation’s healthcare system. 

8 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Consortium shall be 

10 composed of 17 members, of whom— 

11 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

12 President and designated by the President as 

13 Chairperson of the Consortium; 

14 (B) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

15 Majority Leader of the Senate; 

16 (C) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

17 Minority Leader of the Senate; 

18 (D) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

19 Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 

20 (E) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

21 Minority Leader of the House of Representa22 tives. 

23 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Appointments to the 

25 Consortium shall be made from individuals who 


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1 are senior-level executives from the Federal 

2 Government or the private-sector who have 

3 demonstrated experience as— 

4 (i) providers of senior, geriatric, and 

5 other assistive services, including housing, 

6 nursing care, home-and-community based 

7 services, and assisted living and caregiver 

8 organizations; 

9 (ii) technology developers or producers 

10 of products for aged individuals; 

11 (iii) Federal, State, or academic re12 searchers that focus on aging issues; 

13 (iv) physicians and other health care 

14 providers; 

15 (v) insurers and other payer organiza16 tions; and 

17 (vi) representatives of the pharma18 ceutical industry. 

19 (B) INCLUSION OF SENIORS AND INDIVID20 UALS WITH DISABILITIES.—At least 2 ap21 pointees shall be— 

22 (i) age 65 or older; or 

23 (ii) an individual with a disability. 

24 (3) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint25 ment of a member of the Consortium shall be made 


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1 not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

2 of this Act. 

3 (d) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

4 (1) TERM.—A member shall be appointed for 

5 the life of the Consortium. 

6 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Consor7 tium— 

8 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Con9 sortium; and 

10 (B) shall be filled, not later than 30 days 

11 after the Consortium is given notice of the va12 cancy, in the same manner as the original ap13 pointment was made. 

14 (e) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

15 the date on which all members of the Consortium have 

16 been appointed, the Consortium shall hold the initial meet17 ing of the Consortium. 

18 (f) MEETINGS.—The Consortium shall meet at the 

19 call of the Chairperson. 

20 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

21 Consortium shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num22 ber of members may hold hearings. 

23 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

24 (a) STUDY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Consortium shall con2 duct a study of all matters relating to the potential 

3 use of new technology to assist older adults and 

4 their caregivers throughout the aging process. 

5 (2) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—The matters to 

6 be studied by the Consortium shall include— 

7 (A) methods for identifying technology that 

8 can be adapted to meet the needs of seniors, in9 dividuals with disabilities, and the caregivers of 

10 such seniors and individuals across all aging 

11 services settings; 

12 (B) methods for fostering scientific innova13 tion with respect to aging services technology 

14 within the business and academic communities; 

15 (C) identifying barriers to innovation in 

16 aging services technology and devising strate17 gies for removing such barriers; 

18 (D) developments in aging services tech19 nology in other countries that may be applied in 

20 the United States; 

21 (E) methods for ensuring that businesses 

22 in the United States have a leadership role in 

23 the rapidly expanding global market of aging 

24 services technology; and 


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1 (F) identifying barriers to the adoption of 

2 aging services technology by health care pro3 viders and consumers and devising strategies to 

4 removing such barriers. 

5 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Consortium shall de6 velop recommendations with respect to the following: 

7 (1) Identification of developments in current 

8 aging services technologies that may result in in9 creased efficiency and cost savings to the healthcare 

10 system. 

11 (2) Opportunities for ongoing research and de12 velopment by the public and private sectors to accel13 erate the development and adoption of aging services 

14 technology in order to— 

15 (A) promote the independence of seniors 

16 and individuals with disabilities; 

17 (B) facilitate early disease detection; 

18 (C) delay the physical, cognitive, social, 

19 and emotional decline resulting from disease 

20 and the aging process; 

21 (D) support wellness activities and preven22 tive behaviors; 

23 (E) promote greater support to 

24 community- and facility-based caregivers; 


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1 (F) develop systems that improve the qual2 ity and efficiency of facility-based care, such as 

3 pharmacy distribution programs and secure 

4 electronic clinical records; 

5 (G) enhance the utilization of technology 

6 by caregivers to reduce the burden of paper7 work; 

8 (H) minimize caregiver burnout; and 

9 (I) reduce medication errors and improve 

10 overall compliance. 

11 (3) Identification of methods to ensure that 

12 necessary technology infrastructure is in place to de13 liver aging services to rural and urban areas. 

14 (4) Whether to establish— 

15 (A) a permanent Federal interagency task 

16 force that will facilitate the development and 

17 distribution of aging services technology; and 

18 (B) a National Resource Center that would 

19 stimulate research, oversee demonstration 

20 projects, and provide training and technical as21 sistance to Federal, State, and private sector 

22 organizations and entities that provide aging 

23 services. 


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1 (5) Assignment of responsibilities for aging 

2 services with respect to jurisdiction, funding, and re3 porting relationships. 

4 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Consortium shall submit 

6 to the President and the appropriate committees of Con7 gress a report that contains the recommendations of the 

8 Consortium with respect to the following: 

9 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL POLICY.—The 

10 development of a national policy to address issues 

11 with respect to technology and assistive health serv12 ices for seniors, including the appropriate roles and 

13 responsibilities for the Federal Government, State 

14 and local governments, and the private sector. 

15 (2) LEGISLATIVE AND PROGRAM CHANGES.— 

16 The specific legislative and regulatory changes with 

17 respect to Federal laws and programs that would 

18 support and encourage the private sector to develop 

19 and make widely available consumer-empowered 

20 technology solutions. 

21 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL RESOURCE

22 CENTER.—The establishment of a National Resource 

23 Center on Aging Services Technologies to offer 

24 training and assistance to the Federal Government, 

25 State and local governments, and the private sector 


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1 in the application of technology in pilots and trials 

2 with respect to assistive health services for seniors. 

3 SEC. 4. POWERS. 

4 (a) HEARINGS.—The Consortium may hold such 

5 hearings, meet and act at such times and places, take such 

6 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Consortium 

7 considers advisable to carry out this Act. 

8 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Consortium may secure 

10 directly from a Federal agency such information as 

11 the Consortium considers necessary to carry out this 

12 Act. 

13 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Except as 

14 otherwise provided by law, on request of the Chair15 person of the Consortium, the head of the agency 

16 shall provide the information to the Consortium. 

17 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Consortium may use 

18 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

19 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Gov20 ernment. 

21 (d) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Consortium may 

22 contract with and compensate government and private 

23 agencies or persons for services, without regard to section 

24 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5). 


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1 (e) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem2 ber or agent of the Consortium may, if authorized by the 

3 Consortium, take any action which the Consortium is au4 thorized to take by this section. 

5 (f) GIFTS.—The Consortium may accept, use, and 

6 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

7 (g) PRINTING.—For purposes of costs relating to 

8 printing and binding, including the costs of personnel de9 tailed from the Government Printing Office, the Consor10 tium shall be deemed to be a committee of Congress. 

11 SEC. 5. CONSORTIUM PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

12 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Members of the 

13 Consortium shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or 

14 benefits by reason of their service on the Consortium. 

15 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Consor16 tium shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

17 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

18 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

19 5, United States Code, while away from the home or reg20 ular place of business of the member in the performance 

21 of the duties of the Consortium. 

22 (c) STAFF.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the Con24 sortium may, without regard to the civil service laws 

25 (including regulations), appoint and terminate an exVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:24 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S716.IS S716

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1 ecutive director and such other additional personnel 

2 as are necessary to enable the Consortium to per3 form the duties of the Consortium. 

4 (2) COMPENSATION.— 

5 (A) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The executive 

6 director shall be paid the rate of basic pay for 

7 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

8 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (B) OTHER STAFF.—The staff shall be ap10 pointed subject to the provisions of title 5, 

11 United States Code, government appointments 

12 in the competitive service, and shall be paid in 

13 accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 

14 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title 

15 relating to classification and General Schedule 

16 pay rates. 

17 (d) DETAIL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOY18 EES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the Federal 

20 Government may be detailed to the Consortium 

21 without reimbursement. 

22 (2) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of the 

23 employee shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

24 service status or privilege. 


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1 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Consortium 

3 may procure temporary and intermittent services in ac4 cordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

5 Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 

6 equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay pay7 able for the General Schedule. 

8 (f) PHYSICAL FACILITIES.—The Administrator of the 

9 General Services Administration shall locate suitable office 

10 space for the operation of the Consortium. The facilities 

11 shall serve as the headquarters of the Consortium and 

12 shall include all necessary equipment and incidentals re13 quired for the proper functioning of the Consortium. 

14 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this Act $1,500,000, for the period of fiscal years 2008 

17 through 2011, to remain available until expended. 

18 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF CONSORTIUM. 

19 The Consortium shall terminate 180 days after the 

20 date on which the Consortium submits the report required 

21 under section 3(c). 

Æ 


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