LANSING — State Rep. Padma Kuppa (D-Troy) introduced House Resolution 208 yesterday to urge the President and the United States Senate to reauthorize the bipartisan Older Americans Act (OAA) and restore funding to Fiscal Year 2010 levels adjusted for inflation. OAA provides for meal programs, home assistance, support for family caregivers, transportation, protection from abuse and much more. In Michigan, the Office of Services to the Aging operates under the authority of the OAA and serves nearly half a million older adults by providing leadership, resources and support for statewide programming.
“The services and funding provided by the Older Americans Act is absolutely paramount to ensuring the elders in our community have the ability to live independently and age with dignity,” said Kuppa. “After a lifetime of contributions to our state and nation, we cannot let the needs of our aging citizens fall below the radar. I’m proud to stand up and fight for the reauthorization of legislation that has had such a positive impact on our state and nation.”
After it was first enacted in 1965, the OAA has been reauthorized numerous times, but recently expired at the end of September 2019. Although the U.S. House of Representatives passed its reauthorization through the Dignity in Aging Act of 2019, the legislation is still being considered by the Senate and remains unadopted.