[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1536 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1536

 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to support healthy aging and 
                       age-friendly communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 16, 2019

Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to support healthy aging and 
                       age-friendly communities.

    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 ``Age-Friendly Communities Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON HEALTHY AGING AND AGE-
              FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 203(c) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 
(42 U.S.C. 3013(c)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c)(1) The Secretary, in collaboration with other Federal 
officials specified in paragraph (2)(A), shall establish--
            ``(A) in accordance with paragraph (2), an Interagency 
        Coordinating Committee on Healthy Aging and Age-Friendly 
        Communities to develop a national set of goals, in accordance 
        with subparagraph (G) of such paragraph, to support the ability 
        of older individuals to age in place and access preventive 
        health care, promote age-friendly communities, and address the 
        ability of older individuals to access long-term care supports, 
        including access to caregivers and home- and community-based 
        health services; and
            ``(B) in accordance with paragraph (3), a public-private 
        coordinating body to provide recommendations for implementing 
        such goals and to develop best practices for public sector 
        stakeholders or private sector stakeholders that are related to 
        such goals.
    ``(2)(A) The officials referred to in paragraph (1) shall be the 
members of the Committee, which shall include the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, the Assistant Secretary for Aging, the Chief 
Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the 
Director of the National Institute on Aging, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, and may include, at the direction of the President, 
the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Commissioner of Social Security, the Secretary 
of the Federal Trade Commission, and such other Federal officials as 
the President may direct.
    ``(B) An official described in subparagraph (A) may appoint a 
designee to carry out the official's duties under this subsection.
    ``(C) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall serve as the 
first chairperson of the Committee for 1 term. After that term, the 
Committee shall select a chairperson from among the members of the 
Committee, and any member may serve as the chairperson. No member may 
serve as the chairperson for more than 1 consecutive term.
    ``(D) The chairperson shall designate an executive officer who 
shall facilitate communication between the Committee and the public-
private coordinating body established under paragraph (1)(B). Each 
member of the Committee shall provide to the executive officer a 
designated point of contact responsible for assisting in and carrying 
out any functions and duties assigned to the Committee.
    ``(E) For purposes of this subsection, a term shall be a period of 
2 calendar years. The first term shall start 1 year after the date of 
enactment of the Age-Friendly Communities Act of 2019.
    ``(F) The Committee shall meet not less often than biannually.
    ``(G)(i) The goals required under paragraph (1)(A) may include--
            ``(I) improving coordination among Federal agencies with 
        responsibility for programs and services that impact older 
        individuals;
            ``(II) identifying, promoting, and implementing (as 
        appropriate) best practices and evidence-based program and 
        service models to assist older individuals in meeting their 
        housing, health care, and other supportive service needs;
            ``(III) effectively collecting and disseminating 
        information about older individuals and the programs and 
        services available to the individuals to ensure that the 
        individuals can access comprehensive information;
            ``(IV) adequately assisting States in better providing 
        housing, health care, and other supportive services to older 
        individuals;
            ``(V) ensuring the continued collection of data relating to 
        the housing, health care, and other supportive service needs of 
        older individuals and supporting efforts to identify and 
        address unmet data needs; and
            ``(VI) identifying any barriers and impediments, including 
        barriers and impediments in statutory and regulatory law, to 
        the access and use by older individuals of federally funded 
        programs and services.
    ``(ii) Not later than the last day of the Committee's first term, 
the Committee shall publicly post and disseminate the goals required 
under paragraph (1)(A). Not later than the last day of each term 
following the first term of the Committee, the Committee shall update 
such goals and publicly post and disseminate such updated goals.
    ``(iii) In developing and updating such goals, the Committee shall 
actively seek input from and consult with public sector stakeholders 
and private sector stakeholders, and shall coordinate with and consider 
recommendations from other working groups, advisory boards, or 
interagency entities established by law.
    ``(3)(A) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the 
Age-Friendly Communities Act of 2019, the Committee shall establish a 
public-private coordinating body to provide recommendations for 
implementing the goals developed and updated by the Committee under 
paragraph (2) and to develop best practices for public sector 
stakeholders or private sector stakeholders related to such goals.
    ``(B) The coordinating body shall be co-chaired by one head or 
deputy of a Federal agency described in paragraph (2)(A) who is 
appointed by the Committee, and 1 representative of a private sector 
stakeholder whom the Committee invites to serve on the coordinating 
body.
    ``(C) Based on the goals developed and updated by the Committee 
under paragraph (2), the Committee shall--
            ``(i) determinate the structure of the coordinating body;
            ``(ii) invite public sector stakeholders to serve on the 
        coordinating body, including representatives from the Federal 
        Government and State and local governments; and
            ``(iii) invite private sector stakeholders to serve on the 
        coordinating body, aiming for diversity in stakeholders serving 
        on the coordinating body, including geographic diversity of 
        stakeholders.
    ``(D) Not later than 2 years after the coordinating body is 
established under this paragraph, and every year thereafter, the 
coordinating body shall provide to the Committee, and the public, a 
report on implementing the goals developed and updated by the Committee 
under paragraph (2), on ways for updating such goals, and on best 
practices for public sector stakeholders and private sector 
stakeholders related to such goals.
    ``(E) The coordinating body shall not be subject to the provisions 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) if the 
coordinating body establishes a procedure approved by the Committee for 
avoiding conflicts of interest.
    ``(4) In this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `age-friendly community' means a community 
        that--
                    ``(i) is taking measurable steps to--
                            ``(I) include adequate and accessible 
                        housing, accessible spaces and buildings, safe 
                        and secure paths, variable route transportation 
                        services, and programs and services designed to 
                        maintain health and well-being;
                            ``(II) respect and include older 
                        individuals in social opportunities, civic 
                        participation, volunteerism, and employment; 
                        and
                            ``(III) facilitate access to supportive 
                        services for older individuals;
                    ``(ii) is not an assisted living facility or a 
                long-term care facility; and
                    ``(iii) has a plan in place to meet local needs for 
                housing, transportation, civic participation, social 
                connectedness, and accessible spaces;
            ``(B) the term `Committee' means the Interagency 
        Coordinating Committee on Healthy Aging and Age-Friendly 
        Communities established under paragraph (1)(A);
            ``(C) the term `private sector stakeholder'--
                    ``(i) means a stakeholder with an interest in aging 
                and that is not a representative of the Federal 
                Government or a State or local government agency or 
                office; and
                    ``(ii) includes an entity, meeting the requirements 
                under clause (i), that is a nonprofit organization, 
                academic or research institution, faith- or community-
                based organization, philanthropic organization, or 
                other entity supporting age-friendly communities; and
            ``(D) the term `public sector stakeholder' means a 
        stakeholder with an interest in aging and that is a 
        representative of the Federal Government or a State or local 
        government agency or office.''.
    (b) Technical Assistance Regarding Age-Friendly Initiatives.--
Section 205(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3016(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
    ``(C) The Assistant Secretary may provide technical assistance, 
including through the regional offices of the Administration, to State 
agencies, area agencies on aging, local government agencies, or leaders 
in age-friendly communities (as defined in section 203(c)(4)) 
regarding--
            ``(i) support for public sector stakeholders and private 
        sector stakeholders in building partnerships to promote such 
        age-friendly communities;
            ``(ii) dissemination of, or consideration of ways to 
        implement, best practices and recommendations from the public-
        private coordinating body established under section 
        203(c)(1)(B); and
            ``(iii) methods of leveraging resources to meet the needs 
        of growing age-friendly communities.''.
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