I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2590
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 or disabled persons are protected from
institutional, community, and domestic violence and sexual assault and
to improve outreach efforts and other services available to older or
disabled persons victimized by such violence, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 22, 1999
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. MILLENDER-
MCDONALD, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr.
FROST, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. FILNER, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´,
Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. SANDERS, AND Mr. LANTOS) 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 or disabled persons are protected from institu-
tional, community, and domestic violence and sexual as-
sault and to improve outreach efforts and other services
available to older or disabled persons 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 American’s Protection From Violence Act of
1999’’.
(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 or disabled 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 or disabled
individuals.
Sec. 303. State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.
Sec. 304. Domestic violence shelters and programs for older or disabled individ-
uals.
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 or disabled individuals.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) 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;
(2) elder abuse takes on many forms, including
physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological (emo-
tional) abuse, neglect (intended or unintended), and
financial exploitation;
(3) 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;
(4) 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;
(5) elder abuse is severely underreported, with
only a fraaction of cases reported, according to the
most recent studies;
(6) many older or disabled persons, particularly
women and minorities, fail to report abuse because
of shame, privacy concerns, or as a result of prior
unsatisfactory experiences with individuals, agencies
or others who lacked sensitivity to the concerns or
needs of older or disabled people;
(7) many older or disabled persons fail to re-
port abuse because they are dependent on their
abusers and fear being abandoned or institutional-
ized;
(8) public and professional awareness and iden-
tification of elder abuse is difficult because older or
disabled persons are not tied into many social net-
works (such as schools or jobs), and may become
isolated in their homes, which can increase the risk
of elder abuse;
(9) there are relatively few statistics and re-
search studies regarding violence against older or
disabled persons; and
(10) older or disabled persons would greatly
benefit from policies that develop, strengthen, and
implement programs for the prevention of abuse, in-
cluding neglect and exploitation, and provide related
assistance for victims.
TITLE I—VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN ACT OF 1994
SEC. 101. ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (108 Stat.
1902) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Subtitle H—Elder Abuse, Neglect,
and Exploitation, Including Do-
mestic Violence and Sexual As-
sault Against older or Disabled
Individuals
‘‘SEC. 40801. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘In this subtitle:
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘elder abuse, ne-
glect, and exploitation’, ‘domestic violence’, and
‘older individual’ have the meanings given the terms
in section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965
(42 U.S.C. 3002).
‘‘(2) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as-
sault’ has the meaning given the term in section
2003 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–2).
‘‘SEC. 40802. LAW SCHOOL CLINICAL PROGRAMS ON ELDER
ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.
‘‘The Attorney General shall make grants to law
school clinical programs for the purposes of funding the
inclusion of cases addressing issues of elder abuse, neglect,
and exploitation, including domestic violence, and sexual
assault, against older or disabled individuals.
‘‘SEC. 40803. TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR LAW ENFORCE-
MENT OFFICERS.
‘‘The Attorney General shall develop curricula and
offer, or provide for the offering of, training programs to
assist law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and relevant
officers of Federal, State, and local courts in recognizing,
addressing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of
elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic
violence, and sexual assault, against older or disabled indi-
viduals.
‘‘SEC. 40804. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out this subtitle.’’.
TITLE 
II—FAMILY 
VIOLENCE
PREVENTION AND SERVICES
ACT
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.
Section 309 of the Family Violence Prevention and
Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10408) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘(7) The term ‘elder domestic abuse’ means do-
mestic violence, as defined in section 102 of the
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002),
against an older individual, as defined in such sec-
tion.’’.
SEC. 202. DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES FOR OLDER OR DIS-
ABLED INDIVIDUALS.
Section 311(a) of the Family Violence Prevention and
Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10410(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) work with domestic violence programs to
encourage the development of programs, including
outreach, support groups, and counseling, targeted
to victims of elder domestic abuse.’’.
SEC. 203. STATE GRANTS.
Section 303(a)(2)(C) of the Family Violence Preven-
tion and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10402(a)(2)(C)) is
amended by inserting ‘‘age,’’ after ‘‘because of ’’.
SEC. 204. DEMONSTRATION GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY INI-
TIATIVES.
Section 318(b)(2)(F) of the Family Violence Preven-
tion and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10418(b)(2)(F)) is
amended by inserting ‘‘and adult protective services enti-
ties’’ before the semicolon.
TITLE III—OLDER AMERICANS
ACT OF 1965
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.
Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 3002) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(45) The term ‘domestic violence’ means an
act or threat of violence, not including an act of self
defense, committed—
‘‘(A) by a current or former spouse of the
victim;
‘‘(B) by a person related by blood or mar-
riage to the victim;
‘‘(C) by a person who is cohabiting with or
has cohabited with the victim;
‘‘(D) by a person with whom the victim
shares a child in common;
‘‘(E) by a person who is or has been in the
social relationship of a romantic or intimate na-
ture with the victim; or
‘‘(F) by a person similarly situated to a
spouse of the victim, or by any other person, if
the domestic or family violence laws of the ju-
risdiction of the victim provide for legal protec-
tion of the victim from the person.
‘‘(46) The term ‘sexual assault’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 2003 of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42
U.S.C. 3796gg–2).’’.
SEC. 302. RESEARCH ABOUT THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF
WOMEN WHO ARE OLDER OR DISABLED INDI-
VIDUALS.
Section 202(d)(3)(C) of the Older Americans Act of
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012(d)(3)(C)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause
(ii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(iii) in establishing research priorities under
clause (i), consider the importance of research about
the sexual assault of women who are older or dis-
abled individuals.’’.
SEC. 303. STATE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.
Section 303(a)(1) of the Older Americans Act of
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3023(a)(1)) is amended by inserting be-
fore the period the following: ‘‘, except that for grants to
carry out section 321(a)(10), there are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary without fiscal
year limitation’’.
SEC. 304. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND PROGRAMS
FOR OLDER OR DISABLED INDIVIDUALS.
Section 422(b) of the Older Americans Act of 1965
(42 U.S.C. 3035a(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(11);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (12) and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(13) expand access to domestic violence shel-
ters and programs for older or disabled individuals
and encourage the use of senior housing, nursing
homes, or other suitable facilities or services when
appropriate as emergency short-term shelters or
measures for older or disabled individuals who are
the victims of elder abuse, including domestic vio-
lence, and sexual assault, against older or disabled
individuals; and
‘‘(14) promote research on legal, organizational,
or training impediments to providing services to
older or disabled individuals through shelters and
programs, such as impediments to provision of the
services in coordination with delivery of health care
or senior services.’’.
SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.—Section 702(a) of the
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058a(a)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out chapter 2 such sums as
may be necessary without fiscal year limitation.’’.
(b) ELDER ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM.—Section
702(b) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.
3058a(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) PREVENTION OF ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND
EXPLOITATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated
to carry out chapter 3 such sums as may be necessary
without fiscal year limitation.’’.
SEC. 306. COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AND OUTREACH.
Title VII of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 3058 et seq.) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subtitle C as subtitle D;
(2) by redesignating sections 761 through 764
as sections 771 through 774, respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subtitle B the following:
‘‘Subtitle C—Community Initiatives
and Outreach
‘‘SEC. 761. COMMUNITY INITIATIVES TO COMBAT ELDER
ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION.
‘‘The Secretary shall make grants to nonprofit pri-
vate organizations to support projects in local commu-
nities, involving diverse sectors of each community, to co-
ordinate activities concerning intervention in and preven-
tion of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including do-
mestic violence, and sexual assault, against older or dis-
abled individuals.
‘‘SEC. 762. OUTREACH TO OLDER OR DISABLED INDIVID-
UALS.
‘‘The Secretary shall make grants to develop and im-
plement outreach programs directed toward assisting older
or disabled individuals who are victims of elder abuse, ne-
glect, and exploitation (including domestic violence, and
sexual assault, against older or disabled individuals), in-
cluding programs directed toward assisting the individuals
in senior housing complexes, nursing homes, board and
care facilities, and senior centers.
‘‘SEC. 763. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this subtitle such sums as may be necessary without fiscal
year limitation.’’.
SEC. 307. TRAINING FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ON
SCREENING FOR ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT,
AND EXPLOITATION.
Section 411 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 3031) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall, in consultation with the
Assistant Secretary, develop curricula and implement con-
tinuing education training programs for adult protective
service workers, persons carrying out a State Long-Term
Care Ombudsman program, health care providers (includ-
ing home health care providers), social workers, clergy, do-
mestic violence service providers, and other community-
based social service providers in settings, including senior
centers, adult day care facilities, nursing homes, board
and care facilities, and senior housing, to improve their
ability to recognize and address instances of elder abuse,
neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, and
sexual assault, against older or disabled individuals.
‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall develop and implement separate curricula and train-
ing programs for medical students, physicians, physician
assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses.
‘‘(3) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall provide information about the curricula and training
programs to entities described in sections 791(c)(2) and
860(f)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
295j(c)(2) and 298b–7(f)(2)) that seek grants or con-
tracts under title VII or VIII of such Act.’’.
TITLE IV—PUBLIC HEALTH
SERVICE ACT
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Elder Abuse Identi-
fication and Referral Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 402. ESTABLISHMENT, FOR CERTAIN HEALTH PROFES-
SIONS PROGRAMS, OF PROVISIONS REGARD-
ING IDENTIFICATION AND REFERRAL FOR
ELDER ABUSE AND NEGLECT.
Section 791 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 295j) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(d) PREFERENCES REGARDING TRAINING IN IDEN-
TIFICATION
AND REFERRAL
OF VICTIMS
OF ELDER
ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a health pro-
fessions entity specified in paragraph (2), the Sec-
retary shall, in making awards of grants or contracts
under this title, give preference to any such entity
(if otherwise a qualified applicant for the award in-
volved) that has in effect the requirement that, as a
condition of receiving a degree or certificate (as ap-
plicable) from the entity, each student has had sig-
nificant training (such as training conducted in ac-
cordance with curricula or programs authorized
under section 411(f) of the Older Americans Act of
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3031(f))), in carrying out the fol-
lowing functions as a provider of health care:
‘‘(A) Identifying victims of elder abuse and
neglect, including domestic violence, and sexual
assault, against older or disabled individuals,
and maintaining complete medical records that
include documentation of the examination,
treatment given, and referrals made, and re-
cording the location and nature of the victim’s
injuries.
‘‘(B) Examining and treating such victims,
within the scope of the health professional’s dis-
cipline, training, and practice, including, at a
minimum, providing medical advice regarding
the dynamics and nature of elder abuse and ne-
glect, including domestic violence, and sexual
assault, against older or disabled individuals.
‘‘(C) Referring the victims to public and
nonprofit private entities that provide services
for such victims.
‘‘(2) RELEVANT HEALTH PROFESSIONS ENTI-
TIES.—For purposes of paragraph (1), a health pro-
fessions entity specified in this paragraph is any en-
tity that is a school of medicine, a school of osteo-
pathic medicine, a graduate program in mental
health practice, a school of nursing (as defined in
section 298b), a program for the training of physi-
cian assistants, or a program for the training of al-
lied health professionals.
‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2
years after the date of the enactment of the Elder
Abuse Identification and Referral Act of 1998, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Com-
merce of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the
Senate, a report specifying—
‘‘(A) the health professions entities that
are receiving preference under paragraph (1);
‘‘(B) the number of hours of training re-
quired by the entities for purposes of such
paragraph;
‘‘(C) the extent of clinical experience so re-
quired; and
‘‘(D) the types of courses through which
the training is being provided.
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The terms ‘abuse’,
‘neglect’, ‘domestic violence’, and ‘older indi-
vidual’ have the meanings given the terms in
section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965
(42 U.S.C. 3002).
‘‘(B) ELDER ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—The
term ‘elder abuse and neglect’ means abuse and
neglect of an older or disabled individual.
‘‘(C) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual
assault’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 2003 of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–
2).’’.
TITLE V—RIGHT TO FINANCIAL
PRIVACY ACT OF 1978
SEC. 501. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES BY FINANCIAL INSTITU-
TIONS OF SUSPECTED CASES OF FINANCIAL
EXPLOITATION OF OLDER OR DISABLED IN-
DIVIDUALS.
Section 1103(d) of the Right to Financial Privacy
Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3403(d)) is amended by inserting
after paragraph (2) the following:
‘‘(3) Nothing in this title shall preclude a financial
institution, or officer, employee, or agent thereof, from re-
porting suspected financial exploitation of an older or dis-
abled individual to State, Federal, or local law enforce-
ment entities, or government-regulated adult protective
services entities. Such report may include only the name
or other identifying information concerning an older or
disabled individual, the account involved, and the nature
of any suspected financial exploitation, including pertinent
documentation. Any financial institution, or officer, em-
ployee, or agent thereof, making a disclosure of informa-
tion and documentation pursuant to this paragraph shall
not be liable to the customer under any law or regulation
of the United States or any constitution, law, or regulation
of any State or political subdivision thereof, for such dis-
closure. For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘older
or disabled individual’’ means an individual who is 65
years of age or older or disabled, and the term ‘‘exploi-
tation’’ means any fraud, abuse, or other conduct that
constitutes a violation of any Federal or State law, includ-
ing any legally enforceable professional standard applica-
ble with regard to any profession or occupation, and the
unauthorized use of an older or disabled individual’s
funds, property, or resources for another person’s profit
or advantage.’’.
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