to increase from 34,700,000 in 2000 to nearly 
40,000,000 by 2010, and then will dramatically in-
crease to over 50,000,000 by 2020. 
(2) By 2020, the population of ‘‘older’’ seniors, 
those over age 85, is expected to double to 
7,000,000, and then double again to 14,000,000 by 
2040. 
(3) As the senior population increases, so does 
the need for additional safe, decent, affordable, and 
suitable housing that meets their unique needs. 
(4) Due to the health care, transportation, and 
service needs of seniors, issues of providing suitable 
and affordable housing opportunities differ signifi-
cantly from the housing needs of other families. 
(5) Seniors need access to a wide array of hous-
ing options, such as affordable assisted living, in- 
home care, supportive or service-enriched housing, 
and retrofitted homes and apartments to allow sen-
iors to age in place and to avoid premature place-
ment in institutional settings. 
(6) While there are many programs in place to 
assist seniors in finding and affording suitable hous-
ing and accessing needed services, these programs 
are fragmented and spread across many agencies, 
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making it difficult for seniors to access assistance or 
to receive comprehensive information. 
(7) Better coordination among Federal agencies 
is needed, as is better coordination at State and 
local levels, to ensure that seniors can access govern-
ment activities, programs, services, and benefits in 
an effective and efficient manner. 
(8) Up to date, accurate, and accessible statis-
tics on key characteristics of seniors, including con-
ditions, behaviors, and needs, are required to accu-
rately identify the housing and service needs of sen-
iors. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘housing’’ means any form of res-
idence, including rental housing, homeownership, as-
sisted living, group home, supportive housing ar-
rangement, nursing facility, or any other physical lo-
cation where a person can live. 
(2) The term ‘‘service’’ includes transportation, 
health care, nursing assistance, meal, personal care 
and chore services, assistance with daily activities, 
mental health care, physical therapy, case manage-
ment, and any other services needed by seniors to 
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allow them to stay in their housing or find alter-
native housing that meets their needs. 
(3) The term ‘‘program’’ includes any Federal 
or State program providing income support, health 
benefits or other benefits to seniors, housing assist-
ance, mortgages, mortgage or loan insurance or 
guarantees, housing counseling, supportive services, 
assistance with daily activities, or other assistance 
for seniors. 
(4) The term ‘‘Council’’ means the Interagency 
Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs 
of Seniors. 
(5) The term ‘‘senior’’ means any individual 65 
years of age or older. 
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON MEETING THE HOUS-
ING AND SERVICE NEEDS OF SENIORS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the ex-
ecutive branch an independent council to be known as the 
Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service 
Needs of Seniors. 
(b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the Council are 
as follows: 
(1) To promote coordination and collaboration 
among the Federal departments and agencies in-
volved with housing, health care, and service needs 
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of seniors in order to better meet the needs of senior 
citizens. 
(2) To identify the unique housing and service 
needs faced by seniors around the country and to 
recommend ways that the Federal Government, 
States, State and local governments, and others can 
better meet those needs, including how to ensure 
that seniors can find and afford housing that allows 
them to access health care, transportation, nursing 
assistance, and assistance with daily activities where 
they live or in their communities. 
(3) To facilitate the aging in place of seniors, 
by identifying and making available the programs 
and services necessary to enable seniors to remain in 
their homes as they age. 
(4) To improve coordination among the housing 
and service related programs and services of Federal 
agencies for seniors and to make recommendations 
about needed changes with an emphasis on— 
(A) maximizing the impact of existing pro-
grams and services; 
(B) reducing or eliminating areas of over-
lap and duplication in the provision and accessi-
bility of such programs and services; and 
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