I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3624
To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the Family Violence
Prevention and Services Act, the Older Americans Act of 1965, the
Public Health Service Act, and the Right to Financial Privacy Act
of 1978 to ensure that older women are protected from institutional,
community, and domestic violence and sexual assault and to improve
outreach efforts and other services available to older women victimized
by such violence, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 1, 1998
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself and Mr. CASTLE) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Com-
merce, and Banking and Financial Services, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the
Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, the Older
Americans Act of 1965, the Public Health Service Act,
and the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 to ensure
that older women are protected from institutional, com-
munity, and domestic violence and sexual assault and
to improve outreach efforts and other services available
to older women victimized by such violence, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Older Women’s Protection From Violence Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
TITLE I—VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT OF 1994
Sec. 101. Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
TITLE II—FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND SERVICES ACT
Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. Domestic abuse services for older individuals.
Sec. 203. State grants.
Sec. 204. Demonstration grants for community initiatives.
TITLE III—OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965
Sec. 301. Definitions.
Sec. 302. Research about the sexual abuse of women who are older individuals.
Sec. 303. State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.
Sec. 304. Domestic violence shelters and programs for older individuals.
Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 306. Community initiatives and outreach.
Sec. 307. Training for health professionals on screening for elder abuse, ne-
glect, and exploitation.
TITLE IV—PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Establishment, for certain health professions programs, of provisions
regarding identification and referral for elder abuse and ne-
glect.
TITLE V—RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OR 1978
Sec. 501. Financial disclosures by financial institutions of suspected cases of fi-
nancial exploitation of older individuals.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) of the more than 1,000,000 persons age 65
and over who are victims of abuse each year, at least
two-thirds are women;
(2) the number of reports of elder abuse in the
United States increased by 150 percent between
1986 and 1996 and is expected to continue growing;
(3) it is estimated that at least 5 percent of the
Nation’s elderly are victims of moderate to severe
abuse and that the rate for all forms of abuse may
be as high as 10 percent;
(4) elder abuse is severely underreported, with
1 in 5 cases being reported in 1980 and 1 in 8 cases
being reported today;
(5) elder abuse takes on many forms, including
physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological (emo-
tional) abuse, neglect (intended or unintended), and
financial exploitation;
(6) many older persons, particularly women and
minorities, fail to report abuse because of shame or
as a result of prior unsatisfactory experiences with
individuals, agencies or others who lacked sensitivity
to the concerns or needs of older people;
(7) many older persons fail to report abuse be-
cause they are dependent on their abusers and fear
being abandoned or institutionalized;