I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5906 
To establish a Consortium on the Impact of Technology in Aging Health 
Services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2006 
Mr. RAMSTAD (for himself, Ms. ESHOO, and Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To establish a Consortium on the Impact of Technology 
in Aging Health Services. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consortium on the Im-
pact of Technology in Aging Health Services Act of 
2006’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSORTIUM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Con-
sortium to be known as the ‘‘Consortium on the Impact 
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of Technology in Aging Health Services’’ (referred to in 
this Act as the ‘‘Consortium’’). 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Consortium is to 
evaluate the potential of new technologies to help the 
United States prepare for the unprecedented demographic 
changes that will occur during the next 10 years in the 
Nation’s healthcare system. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) COMPOSITION.—The Consortium shall be 
composed of 17 members, of whom— 
(A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 
President and designated by the President as 
Chairperson of the Consortium; 
(B) 4 members shall be appointed by the 
majority leader of the Senate; 
(C) 4 members shall be appointed by the 
minority leader of the Senate; 
(D) 4 members shall be appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 
(E) 4 members shall be appointed by the 
minority leader of the House of Representa-
tives. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Appointments to the 
Consortium shall be made from individuals who 
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are senior-level executives from the Federal 
Government or the private-sector who have 
demonstrated experience as— 
(i) providers of senior, geriatric, and 
other assistive services, including housing, 
nursing care, home-and-community based 
services, and assisted living and caregiver 
organizations; 
(ii) technology developers or producers 
of products for aged individuals; 
(iii) Federal, State, or academic re-
searchers that focus on aging issues; 
(iv) physicians and other health care 
providers; 
(v) insurers and other payer organiza-
tions; and 
(vi) representatives of the pharma-
ceutical industry. 
(B) INCLUSION OF SENIORS AND INDIVID-
UALS
WITH
DISABILITIES.—At least 2 ap-
pointees shall be— 
(i) age 65 or older; or 
(ii) an individual with a disability. 
(3) DATE
OF
APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint-
ment of a member of the Consortium shall be made 
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not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
(d) TERM; VACANCIES.— 
(1) TERM.—A member shall be appointed for 
the life of the Consortium. 
(2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Consor-
tium— 
(A) shall not affect the powers of the Con-
sortium; and 
(B) shall be filled, not later than 30 days 
after the Consortium is given notice of the va-
cancy, in the same manner as the original ap-
pointment was made. 
(e) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date on which all members of the Consortium have 
been appointed, the Consortium shall hold the initial meet-
ing of the Consortium. 
(f) MEETINGS.—The Consortium shall meet at the 
call of the Chairperson. 
(g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 
Consortium shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num-
ber of members may hold hearings. 
SEC. 3. DUTIES. 
(a) STUDY.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Consortium shall con-
duct a study of all matters relating to the potential 
use of new technology to assist older adults and 
their caregivers throughout the aging process. 
(2) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—The matters to 
be studied by the Consortium shall include— 
(A) methods for identifying technology that 
can be adapted to meet the needs of seniors, in-
dividuals with disabilities, and the caregivers of 
such seniors and individuals across all aging 
services settings; 
(B) methods for fostering scientific innova-
tion with respect to aging services technology 
within the business and academic communities; 
(C) strategies for addressing issues, such 
as liability, reimbursement, and privacy and se-
curity concerns, with respect to innovation in 
aging services technology; 
(D) developments in aging services tech-
nology in other countries that may be applied in 
the United States; and 
(E) methods for ensuring that businesses 
in the United States have a leadership role in 
the rapidly expanding global market of aging 
services technology. 
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(b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Consortium shall de-
velop recommendations with respect to the following: 
(1) Identification of developments in current 
aging services technologies that may result in in-
creased efficiency and cost savings to the healthcare 
system. 
(2) Specifications for Federal funding of on- 
going research and development by businesses and 
academia to accelerate the development of aging 
services technology in order to— 
(A) promote the independence of seniors 
and individuals with disabilities; 
(B) facilitate early disease detection; 
(C) delay the physical, cognitive, social, 
and emotional decline resulting from disease 
and the aging process; 
(D) support wellness activities and preven-
tive behaviors; 
(E) 
promote 
greater 
support 
to 
community- and facility-based caregivers; 
(F) develop systems that improve the qual-
ity control and efficiency of facility-based care, 
such as pharmacy distribution programs and 
secure electronic clinical records; 
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