Exhibit No. 26 [FACSIMILE] TESTIMONY OF CAROL TUCKER FOREMAN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND CONSUMER SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Washington, D. C. Ladies and gentlemen of the Commission, I am pleased to be here today to present testimony for the Department of Agriculture on the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. Like others, I fear that not enough attention has been paid to the possibility of age discrimination in Federally-assisted programs. These hearings should be useful in focusing government attention on this need. The Department of Agriculture has a long history of concern with people and especially older persons. Many of the programs we administer are specifically targeted toward older persons or contain components which directly affect older persons. example: 1. For Under the Older American Community Service Employment Program (Title IX of the Amendments to the older Americans Act of 1965), the Forest Service is productively employing more than 2,500 low income men and women age 55 or older in 40 States and Puerto Rico in community service projects like conservation, beautification, timber stand improvement, campground rehabilitation and the like. 2. Since 1963, the Farmers Home Administration has financed more than 35,000 rural rental and cooperatively owned housing units for older persons (persons 62 years of age or older). Last year, the Farmers Home Administration made over 2,800 home purchase loans to older persons. This year, under a program previously authorized but not funded in recent years by Congress, the Farmers Home Administration will provide over 1,800 home repair grants to persons 62 years of age or older. In addition, older persons are the recipients or among the beneficiaries of farmer loans, business and industrial loans and community facility loans provided by the Farmers Home Administration. The latter loan programs are especially pertinent to the problems of older persons because they help provide needed community services like rescue squads, nursing facilities and the like. 3. The Consumer and Food Economics Institute of the Agricultural Research Service prepares Family Food Plans based upon scientifically determined needs for food and nutrients in human diets. One of the food plans specifically covers the needs of persons 55 and over. In addition, ARS has prepared publications dealing with "Nutrition Programs for the Elderly," "Food Guide for older Folks" and "Budgeting for Retirement." The decennial national food consumption survey, which began last April and will conclude in March 1978, will enable researchers to know the general food consumption habits of persons 65 and older. 4. Finally, a considerable amount of research supported in part by the Cooperative State Research Service is conducted at colleges and universities which directly relates to older people. This includes human nutrition, housing and patterns of living. For example, this research has shown us that only 65 percent of the rural residents in Arkansas have medical insurance coverage compared to 80 percent of urban residents. In Texas, research has shown that older low income people spend approximately one-third of their income for food---twice the proportion spent by all families in America. 5. A significant portion of the programs and activities of the Cooperative Extension Service is direct ed toward older people. Educational programs and information are provided regarding consumer help, energy conservation, nutrition, community services, recreation, preventive medical care, estate planning, hobby workshops, working with youth and the like. Extension agents work with more than 600,000 volunteer leaders in the communities of America to provide this help. Indeed, it is clear that as further human development programs for older persons are implemented, extension workers will continue to play an important role. Until The Department of Agriculture is also aware of the implications of the age structure of the population. recently, the average age of American farmers has been rising and this was a source of concern (although the average age for farmers is not significantly higher than other persons who are self-employed). Since 1970, the number of farmers who are under 35 has increased and so this earlier concern has been mitigated somewhat. But the Department of Agriculture is also concerned about people other than farmers too. Already we know that a greater proportion of the older population lives in rural areas (more than one-third) than in the population as a whole (27 percent) and that about 22 percent of this number live in poverty as compared to 13 percent who live in urban areas and are in poverty. Of all older people who are in poverty, half live in nonmetropolitan areas. Our demographers have noted that not only is population increasing in nonmetropolitan areas but that a substantial portion of the increase is being supplied by persons who are at or near retirement (persons in their low 50's who are still active). From 1960 to 1970, there were some 370 nonmetropolitan counties where this trend was noted and we believe that it is continuing in the 70's. These events have tremendous implications for national growth and rural development policies because we already know that rural areas do not have the necessary medical, housing and transportation resources to adequately support, in a quality of life sense, this growing segment of the population. But, I understand that the special concern of these hearings is discrimination in Federal programs because of age and that of the programs administered by the Department of Agriculture, you are looking at this question with respect to food programs. As you know, Congress has passed a new food stamp act which awaits President Carter's signature. Many of the features of this act represent explicit attempts to address the problems of the elderly and have the potential for significantly improving services to the elderly. I am going to describe these features to you in a few minutes, but first, I want to discuss the current status of our service to the elderly and some of the problems that have encumbered the program in the past. Let's begin by looking at the numbers. As a rough measure, we believe that over 5 million persons over the age of 60 may qualify for food stamps under the current law. I should note that the new law restricts eligibility and will therefore somewhat shrink this estimate. We know Of these 5 million people, 2.2 million---or 44%---were served by the program according to our 1976 survey of households characteristics. Because SSI recipients are categorically eligible for food stamps under the current law, we are concerned about their participation. there are 3.45 million SSI recipients in this country, excluding those in Massachusetts and California, where SSI households' food stamp benefits are cashed out in the form of a supplement to their SSI checks. Most, but not all, of these SSI recipients are eligible for food stamps. (Some who live with persons not on SSI may be ineligible if those persons have incomes that place the household over the income eligibility limit.) We know, however, that about 1 million households with SSI income are receiving food stamps, and that some of these households contain more than one SSI recipient. Overall, this data indicates that between one-third and one-half of all eligible SSI recipients are receiving food stamps. The 1974 Food Stamp Act explicitly requires that the States "undertake effective action...to inform low-income households concerning the availability and benefits of the Food Stamp Program and insure the participation of eligible households." A 1974 lawsuit, Butz v. Bennett, found the Department's enforcement of this requirement inadequate and, accordingly, stringent outreach instructions were issued. |