Title: Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017
This bill amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include the specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals among the "greatest social needs" served under that Act. An LGBT individual shall be considered a "minority" for purposes of services provided under the Act.
The bill authorizes the Administration of Aging to designate within it a person with responsibility for addressing issues affecting LGBT older individuals. In addition, the administration shall conduct studies and collect data to determine the services needed by LGBT older individuals.
The administration shall establish and operate the National Resource Center on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging to provide national, state, and local organizations with the information and technical assistance needed by those organizations to effectively serve LGBT older individuals.
The Long-Term Care Ombudsman of each state shall, as a condition of receiving certain federal funding under the Act,  collect and analyze data related to discrimination against LGBT older individuals in long-term care settings.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4222 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4222

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide equal treatment of 
            LGBT older individuals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 2, 2017

   Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Crist, Ms. Frankel of 
   Florida, Ms. Norton, Mr. Higgins of New York, and Mr. Blumenauer) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide equal treatment of 
            LGBT older individuals, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder 
Americans Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 
U.S.C. 3002) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (24)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking the period 
                and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) status as an LGBT individual.'';
            (2) by redesignating--
                    (A) paragraphs (36) through (54) as paragraphs (38) 
                through (56), respectively; and
                    (B) paragraphs (34) and (35) as paragraphs (35) and 
                (36), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (33) the following:
            ``(34) The term `LGBT', used with respect to an individual, 
        means a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individual.''; 
        and
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (36), as so redesignated, 
        the following:
            ``(37) The term `minority', used with respect to an 
        individual, includes a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender 
        individual.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 215(e)(1)(J) of the Older 
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3020e-1(e)(1)(J)) is amended by 
striking ``minorities'' and inserting ``minority individuals''.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION ON AGING.

    (a) Establishment of Administration.--Section 201 of the Older 
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(3)(J), by inserting before the 
        semicolon the following: ``, including the effectiveness of 
        such services in meeting the needs of LGBT older individuals''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) The Assistant Secretary is authorized to designate within the 
Administration a person to have responsibility for addressing issues 
affecting LGBT older individuals.''.
    (b) Functions of Assistant Secretary.--Section 202 of the Older 
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (16)(A)(ii), by inserting ``, and 
                separately specifying the number of such individuals 
                who are LGBT individuals'' before the semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (30), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (C) in paragraph (31), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(32) conduct studies and collect data to determine the 
        services that are needed by LGBT older individuals.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g)(1) The Assistant Secretary shall, directly or by grant or 
contract, establish and operate the National Resource Center on 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging (in this subsection 
referred to as the `Center').
    ``(2) To address the unique challenges faced by LGBT older 
individuals, the Center shall provide national, State, and local 
organizations, including those with a primary mission of serving LGBT 
individuals and those with a primary mission of serving older 
individuals, with the information and technical assistance the 
organizations need to effectively serve LGBT older individuals.
    ``(3) The Center shall have 3 primary objectives, consisting of--
            ``(A) educating aging services organizations about the 
        existence and special needs of LGBT older individuals;
            ``(B) sensitizing LGBT organizations about the existence 
        and special needs of older individuals; and
            ``(C) providing educational resources to LGBT older 
        individuals and their caregivers.
    ``(4)(A) To be eligible to receive funds under this subsection, an 
entity--
            ``(i) shall have demonstrated expertise in working with 
        organizations or individuals on issues affecting LGBT 
        individuals;
            ``(ii) shall have documented experience in providing 
        training and technical assistance on a national basis or a 
        formal relationship with an organization that has that 
        experience; and
            ``(iii) shall meet such other criteria as the Assistant 
        Secretary shall issue.
    ``(B) To be eligible to receive funds under this subsection, an 
entity shall submit an application to the Assistant Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Assistant 
Secretary may require.
    ``(5) The Assistant Secretary shall make available to the Center on 
an annual basis such resources as are necessary for the Center to carry 
out effectively the functions of the Center under this Act and not less 
than the amount of resources made available to the National Resource 
Center on LGBT Aging, existing on the day before the date of enactment 
of the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017, for fiscal 
year 2018.
    ``(6) The Assistant Secretary shall develop and issue operating 
standards and reporting requirements for the Center.''.
    (c) Reports.--Section 207 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 
U.S.C. 3018) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ``LGBT 
        individuals,'' after ``low-income individuals,'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, and 
                separately specify the number of such individuals who 
                are LGBT individuals'' before the semicolon;
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 
                paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) the effectiveness of such activities in assisting 
        LGBT individuals;''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) The Assistant Secretary shall ensure that--
            ``(1) no individual will be required to provide information 
        regarding the sexual orientation or gender identity of the 
        individual as a condition of participating in activities or 
        receiving services under this Act; and
            ``(2) no agency or other entity providing activities or 
        services under this Act that receives, for the purposes of this 
        Act, information regarding the sexual orientation or gender 
        identity of an individual will disclose the information in any 
        form that would permit such individual to be identified.
    ``(e) The Assistant Secretary shall develop appropriate protocols, 
demonstrations, tools, or guidance for use by State agencies and area 
agencies on aging, to ensure successful implementation of data 
collection requirements under section 201(d)(3)(J), paragraphs 
(16)(A)(ii) and (29) of section 202(a), subsections (a)(3), (c)(1), and 
(c)(4), and section 307(a)(6), relating to LGBT individuals.
    ``(f) The Assistant Secretary shall determine when the data 
collection requirements described in subsection (e) shall apply, taking 
into consideration the complexity and importance of each requirement, 
but each requirement shall apply not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 
2017.''.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATE AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS ON AGING.

    Section 301(a)(2) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3021(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G); 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
                    ``(F) organizations that serve LGBT individuals; 
                and''.

SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES FOR HEALTH, INDEPENDENCE, AND LONGEVITY.

    Section 411(a)(11) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
3032(a)(11)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(11) conducting activities of national significance to 
        promote quality and continuous improvement in the support and 
        services provided to individuals with greatest social need, 
        through activities that include needs assessment, program 
        development and evaluation, training, technical assistance, and 
        research, concerning--
                    ``(A) addressing physical and mental health, 
                disabilities, and health disparities;
                    ``(B) providing long-term care, including in-home 
                and community-based care;
                    ``(C) providing informal care, and formal care in a 
                facility setting;
                    ``(D) providing access to culturally responsive 
                health and human services; and
                    ``(E) addressing other gaps in assistance and 
                issues that the Assistant Secretary determines are of 
                particular importance to older individuals with 
                greatest social need.''.

SEC. 6. DATA ON DISCRIMINATION.

    Section 712 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058g) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) through (J) 
                as subparagraphs (G) through (K); and
                    (B) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following:
                    ``(F) collect and analyze data, relating to 
                discrimination against LGBT older individuals on the 
                basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or 
                gender identity in the admission to, transfer or 
                discharge from, or lack of adequate care provided in 
                long-term care settings, and shall include the analyses 
                in the reports described in subsection (h)(1);''; and
            (2) in subsection (h)(6), in the matter preceding 
        subparagraph (A), by striking ``(A) through (G)'' and inserting 
        ``(A) through (H)''.
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