II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1697

To establish the elderly housing plus health support demonstration program 

to modernize public housing for elderly and disabled persons. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2003

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. SARBANES, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL

To establish the elderly housing plus health support demonstration program to modernize public housing for elderly and disabled persons.

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 ‘‘Elderly Housing Plus 

5 Health Support Demonstration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) there are at least 34,100,000 Americans 

9 who are 65 years of age and older, and persons who 
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1 are 85 years of age or older comprise almost one2 quarter of that population; 

3 (2) the Bureau of the Census of the Depart4 ment of Commerce estimates that, by 2030, the el5 derly population will double to 70,000,000 persons; 

6 (3) according to the Department of Housing 

7 and Urban Development report ‘‘Housing Our El8 ders—A Report Card on the Housing Conditions 

9 and Needs of Older Americans’’, the largest and 

10 fastest growing segments of the older population in11 clude many people who have historically been vulner12 able economically and in the housing market—

13 women, minorities, and people over the age of 85; 

14 (4) many elderly persons are at significant risk 

15 with respect to the availability, stability, and accessi16 bility of affordable housing; 

17 (5) one-third of public housing residents are ap18 proximately 62 years of age or older, making public 

19 housing the largest Federal housing program for 

20 senior citizens; 

21 (6) the elderly population residing in public 

22 housing is older, poorer, frailer, and more racially 

23 diverse than the elderly population residing in other 

24 assisted housing; 
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1 (7) two-thirds of the public housing develop2 ments for the elderly, including those that also serve 

3 the disabled, were constructed before 1970 and are 

4 in dire need of major rehabilitation and configura5 tion, such as rehabilitation to provide new roofs, en6 ergy-efficient heating, cooling, utility systems, acces7 sible units, and up-to-date safety features; 

8 (8) many of the dwelling units in public housing 

9 developments for elderly and disabled persons are 

10 undersized, are inaccessible to residents with phys11 ical limitations, do not comply with the requirements 

12 under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 

13 or lack railings, grab bars, emergency call buttons, 

14 and wheelchair accessible ramps; 

15 (9) a study conducted for the Department of 

16 Housing and Urban Development found that the 

17 cost of the basic modernization needs for public 

18 housing for elderly and disabled persons exceeds 

19 $5,700,000,000; 

20 (10) a growing number of elderly and disabled 

21 persons face unnecessary institutionalization because 

22 of the absence of appropriate supportive services and 

23 assisted living facilities in their residences; 

24 (11) for many elderly and disabled persons, 

25 independent living in a non-institutionalization set-
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1 ting is a preferable housing alternative to costly in2 stitutionalization, and would allow public monies to 

3 be more effectively used to provide necessary services 

4 for such persons; 

5 (12) congregate housing and supportive services 

6 coordinated by service coordinators is a proven and 

7 cost-effective means of enabling elderly and disabled 

8 persons to remain in place with dignity and inde9 pendence; 

10 (13) the effective provision of congregate serv11 ices and assisted living in public housing develop12 ments requires the redesign of units and buildings to 

13 accommodate independent living; 

14 (14) most of the elderly who reside in public 

15 housing are eligible for Medicaid to pay for the cost 

16 of their being institutionalized in nursing homes; 

17 (15) nursing home costs now exceed 42 percent 

18 of the entire Medicaid program; and 

19 (16) by providing a nursing home resident the 

20 choice of assisted living in public housing instead, 

21 the Federal Government can save as much as three22 quarters of the long term per capita Medicaid costs 

23 and at the same time allow a frail senior to age in 

24 place. 

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to establish a demonstration program to 

2 make competitive grants to provide state-of-the-art, 

3 health-supportive housing with assisted living oppor4 tunities for elderly and disabled persons; 

5 (2) to provide funding to enhance, make safe 

6 and accessible, and extend the useful life of public 

7 housing developments for the elderly and disabled 

8 and to increase their accessibility to supportive serv9 ices; 

10 (3) to provide elderly and disabled public hous11 ing residents a readily available choice in living ar12 rangements by utilizing the services of service coor13 dinators and providing a continuum of care that al14 lows such residents to age in place; 

15 (4) to incorporate congregate housing service 

16 programs more fully into public housing operations; 

17 and 

18 (5) to accomplish such purposes and provide 

19 such funding under existing provisions of law that 

20 currently authorize all activities to be conducted 

21 under the program. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY.—The term 

25 ‘‘assisted living facility’’ means any public housing 
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1 project for the elderly, or for the elderly and the 

2 non-elderly disabled, that is operated in accordance 

3 with applicable laws and provides to the residents 

4 any combination of the following services: 

5 (A) Meal service adequate to meet nutri6 tional need. 

7 (B) Housekeeping aid. 

8 (C) Personal assistance. 

9 (D) Transportation services. 

10 (E) Health-related services. 

11 (F) Such other services as are considered 

12 important for maintaining independent living. 

13 (2) ELDERLY AND DISABLED FAMILIES.—The 

14 term ‘‘elderly and disabled families’’ means families 

15 in which 1 or more persons is an elderly person or 

16 a person with disabilities. 

17 (3) ELDERLY PERSON.—The term ‘‘elderly per18 son’’ means a person who is 62 years of age or 

19 older. 

20 (4) PERSON WITH DISABILITIES.—The term 

21 ‘‘person with disabilities’’ has the same meaning as 

22 in section 3(b)(3)(E) of the United States Housing 

23 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(3)(E)). 

24 (5) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The term 

25 ‘‘public housing agency’’ has the same meaning as in
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1 section 3(b)(6)(A) of the United States Housing Act 

2 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)(A)). 

3 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

5 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY FOR ELDERLY HOUSING PLUS HEALTH 

6 SUPPORT PROGRAM. 

7 The Secretary shall establish an elderly housing plus 

8 health support demonstration program (referred to in this 

9 Act as the ‘‘demonstration program’’) in accordance with 

10 this Act to provide coordinated funding to public housing 

11 projects for elderly and disabled families selected for par12 ticipation under section 5, to be used for—

13 (1) rehabilitation or re-configuration of such 

14 projects or the acquisition and rehabilitation of an 

15 existing assisted living facility in cases where the 

16 public housing agency has no elderly housing stock 

17 suitable for conversion; 

18 (2) the provision of space in such projects for 

19 supportive services and community and health facili20 ties; 

21 (3) the provision of service coordinators for 

22 such projects; and 

23 (4) the provision of congregate services pro24 grams in or near such projects. 
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1 SEC. 5. PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. 

2 (a) APPLICATION AND PLAN.—To be eligible to be 

3 selected for participation in the demonstration program, 

4 a public housing agency shall submit to the Secretary—

5 (1) an application, in such form and manner as 

6 the Secretary shall require; and 

7 (2) a plan for the agency that—

8 (A) identifies the public housing projects 

9 for which amounts provided under this Act will 

10 be used, limited to projects that are designated 

11 or otherwise used for occupancy—

12 (i) only by elderly families; or 

13 (ii) by both elderly families and dis14 abled families; and 

15 (B) provides for local agencies or organiza16 tions to establish or expand the provision of 

17 health-related services or other services that will 

18 enhance living conditions for residents of public 

19 housing projects of the agency, primarily in the 

20 project or projects to be assisted under the 

21 plan. 

22 (b) SELECTION AND CRITERIA.—

23 (1) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select 

24 public housing agencies for participation in the dem25 onstration program based upon a competition among 
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1 public housing agencies that submit applications for 

2 participation. 

3 (2) CRITERIA.—The competition referred to in 

4 paragraph (1) shall be based upon—

5 (A) the extent of the need for rehabilita6 tion or re-configuration of the public housing 

7 projects of an agency that are identified in the 

8 plan of the agency pursuant to subsection 

9 (a)(2)(A); 

10 (B) the past performance of an agency in 

11 serving the needs of elderly public housing resi12 dents or non-elderly, disabled public housing 

13 residents given the opportunities in the locality; 

14 (C) the past success of an agency in ob15 taining non-public housing resources to assist 

16 such residents given the opportunities in the lo17 cality; and 

18 (D) the effectiveness of the plan of an 

19 agency in creating or expanding services de20 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(B). 

21 SEC. 6. CONFIGURATION AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

22 (a) GRANTS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

24 grants to public housing agencies selected for par25 ticipation under section 5, to be used only—
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1 (A) for capital improvements to rehabili2 tate or configure public housing projects identi3 fied in the plan submitted under section 

4 5(a)(2)(A); 

5 (B) to provide space for supportive services 

6 and for community and health-related facilities 

7 primarily for the residents of projects identified 

8 in the plan submitted under section 5(a)(2)(A); 

9 and 

10 (C) for the cost of acquisition by a public 

11 housing agency of an existing assisted living fa12 cility that is in need of rehabilitation in cases 

13 where the public housing agency has no elderly 

14 housing stock suitable for conversion. 

15 (2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Grants shall be made 

16 under this section from funds made available for the 

17 demonstration program in accordance with sub18 section (c). 

19 (3) INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—

20 Section 9(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 

21 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(c)(1)) does not apply to 

22 grants made under this section. 

23 (b) ALLOCATION.—Grants funded in accordance with 

24 this section shall—
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1 (1) be allocated among public housing agencies 

2 selected for participation under section 5 on the 

3 basis of the criteria established under section 

4 5(b)(2); and 

5 (2) be made in such amounts and subject to 

6 such terms as the Secretary shall determine. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated for the demonstration 

9 program, to make grants in accordance with this section—

10 (1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and 

11 (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

12 year 2005 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

13 SEC. 7. SERVICE COORDINATORS. 

14 (a) GRANTS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

16 grants to public housing agencies selected for par17 ticipation under section 5, to be used only—

18 (A) for public housing projects for elderly 

19 and disabled families for whom capital assist20 ance is provided under section 6; and 

21 (B) to provide service coordinators and re22 lated activities identified in the plan of the 

23 agency pursuant to section 5(a)(2), so that the 

24 residents of such public housing projects will 

25 have improved and more economical access to 
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1 services that support the health and well-being 

2 of the residents. 

3 (2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Grants shall be made 

4 under this section from funds made available for the 

5 demonstration program in accordance with sub6 section (c). 

7 (3) INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—

8 Section 9(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 

9 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(c)(1)) does not apply to 

10 grants made under this section. 

11 (b) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall provide a 

12 grant pursuant to this section, in an amount not to exceed 

13 $100,000, to each public housing agency that is selected 

14 for participation under section 5. 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated for the demonstration 

17 program, to make grants in accordance with this section—

18 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and 

19 (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

20 year 2005 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

21 SEC. 8. CONGREGATE HOUSING SERVICES PROGRAMS. 

22 (a) GRANTS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

24 grants to public housing agencies selected for par25 ticipation under section 5, to be used only—
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1 (A) in connection with public housing 

2 projects for elderly and disabled families for 

3 which capital assistance is provided under sec4 tion 6; and 

5 (B) to carry out a congregate housing 

6 service program identified in the plan of the 

7 agency pursuant to section 5(a)(2) that pro8 vides services as described in section 202(g)(1) 

9 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 

10 1701q(g)(1)). 

11 (2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Grants shall be made 

12 under this section from funds made available for the 

13 demonstration program in accordance with sub14 section (c). 

15 (3) INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—

16 Other than as specifically provided in this section—

17 (A) section 9(c)(1) of the United States 

18 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(c)(1)) 

19 does not apply to grants made under this sec20 tion; and 

21 (B) section 202 of the Housing Act of 

22 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q) does not apply to 

23 grants made under this section. 

24 (b) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall provide a 

25 grant pursuant to this section, in an amount not to exceed 
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1 $150,000, to each public housing agency that is selected 

2 for participation under section 5. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated for the demonstration 

5 program, to make grants in accordance with this section—

6 (1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and 

7 (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

8 year 2005 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

9 SEC. 9. SAFEGUARDING OTHER APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

11 Act to carry out this Act are in addition to any amounts 

12 authorized to be appropriated under any other provision 

13 of law, or otherwise made available in appropriations Acts, 

14 for rehabilitation of public housing projects, for service co15 ordinators for public housing projects, or for congregate 

16 housing services programs.

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