SEPTEMBER 15 (Legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1972.-Ordered to be printed Mr. EAGLETON, from the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, submitted the following REPORT together with SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS [To accompany S. 555] The Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, to which was referred the bill (S. 555) to authorize the establishment of an older worker community service program, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. BACKGROUND S. 555, the Older Americans Community Service Act, was introduced on February 2, 1971, by Senator Kennedy for himself and other Senators. S. 555 is a revised version of S. 3604 which was introduced in the 91st Congress and on which hearings were held by the Subcommittee on Aging. Hearings were held on S. 555 on July 29 and July 30, 1971. Testimony on the bill was taken from representatives of major national aging organizations, from administration witnesses, from witnesses having special expertise in the employment problems of older workers, and from older persons who are currently participating in senior community service programs. B (229) 2 SUMMARY This legislation establishes an Older American Community Service employment program in the Department of Labor and authorizes the appropriation of $100 million for fiscal year 1973 and $150 million for fiscal year 1974 for the purpose of funding programs under which low-income persons of 55 years or older who have, or would have, difficulty in securing employment would be employed in community service activities. The Secretary of Labor is authorized to enter into agreements with public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations, agencies of State or local governments, or Indian tribes on Federal or State reservations to provide for the payment of 90 percent of costs of establishing and operating a project for the employment of such older persons in community service activities. The Secretary is authorized to pay 100 percent of the cost of any project located in an emergency or disaster area or in an economically depressed area. Community service activities which are designated as eligible for participation by older workers include social, health, welfare, educational, library, recreational, and other similar services; conservation, maintenance, or restoration of natural resources; community betterment or beautification; antipollution and environmental quality efforts; economic development; and such other services which are essential and necessary to the community as the Secretary, by regulation, may prescribe. Employment authorized under the bill is limited to publicly owned and operated facilities and projects or projects sponsored by charitable organizations exempt from taxation under the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. However, such employment may not be performed in facilities used as a place of sectarian religious instruction or worship. Older persons employed under the program authorized by this bill are not to be considered as Federal employees as a result of such employment. Project operators must assure that safe and healthy conditions of work will be provided and that persons employed in public service jobs under the bill will be paid wages which shall not be lower than whichever is the highest of (a) the minimum wage established by the Fair Labor Standards Act; (b) the applicable State or local minimum wage; or (c) the prevailing rates of pay for persons employed in similar public occupations by the same employer. The Secretary is authorized to consult with the appropriate agencies of State and local governments to determine the localities in which community service projects are most needed, the types of skills which are available among eligible individuals in these localities, and the potential projects and numbers of eligible individuals in the local population. The Secretary is further directed to encourage those operating community service projects under this bill to coordinate their activities with existing programs of a related nature conducted under the Economic Opportunity Act, the Manpower Development and Training Act, or the Emergency Employment Act. The Secretary is further directed to coordinate programs conducted under this bill with related.programs operated by the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Administration on Aging, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. S. Rept. 92-1133 3 STATE ALLOCATIONS Sums appropriated under this bill are to be initially allotted to projects within each State based on each State's proportionate share of the Nation's population aged 55 or older, except that each Statedefined to include the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico-shall receive an initial allotment of at least one-half of 1 percent of the sums appropriated and Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific shall receive an initial allotment of at least one-fourth of 1 percent of sums appropriated. If the Secretary determines that the amounts initially allotted for projects within any State will not be required for use within such State during that fiscal year, the Secretary may reallot such amounts to projects within other States in proportion to the original State allocations. Amounts allocated to each State shall be apportioned among areas within each State in an equitable manner, taking into consideration the proportion which eligible individuals in each such area bears to the total number of such persons in the State. The following table shows the allocation by State of the funds authorized in accordance with the formula provided in the bill. The figures were prepared by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare based upon the best available information with respect to number of persons 55 years or older in each State and in the Nation. The program of community service employment for older workers provided in this bill, the Older American Community Service Employment Act, is modeled after the pilot program successfully conducted by the Department of Labor under Operation Mainstream. The Operation Mainstream program-which was delegated to the S. Rept. 92-1133 4 Department of Labor as part of the reorganization of the Office of Economic Opportunity-provides for contracts with private organizations to establish community service employment programs for workers aged 55 or older. The principal experience to date has been with the programs operated pursuant to contracts with four national membership organizations that are oriented toward the problems of older Americans. These organizations, and the names given the community service program operated by each, are: National Farmers Union-Green Thumb/Green Light. National Council on Aging-Senior Community Service American Association of Retired Persons/National Retired Teachers Association-Senior Community Service Aides. The several programs vary somewhat in individual focus-thus the Green Thumb/Green Light projects operated by the National Farmers Union are concentrated, understandably, in rural areas-but all share the common purpose of providing older men and women with the dual opportunities of earning vitally needed additional income while providing service to the communities in which they live. Most of the older Americans employed through these projects work on a part-time basis--usually about 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and are paid, on the average, about $2.15 an hour. The work they do varies widely and the committee heard testimony from several senior aides, who described their activities: A 70-year-old Florida woman, herself a former migrant worker who lives in a small, isolated community inhabited largely by elderly former migrant workers, does all the shopping for about 100 persons who are unable to make the 80-mile round trip to the nearest major town. She cooks meals for those too infirm to help themselves and also arranges transportation to the clinic for those needing health care. A retired insurance man in St. Louis, age 71, maintains a regular route covering some 30 nursing homes to aid in the placement of elderly State mental hospital patients in the homes and to follow up on the patients after placement. Many such patients had been confined in the mental hospital for a number of years-some as long as 50 years-and had no one to visit them, check on their condition, or call for State medical and social services when needed. A 60-year-old widow in West Virginia works with retarded children in a sheltered workshop, teaching them crafts such as ceramics and woodworking, and assisting them in the personal care skills that must be acquired before they can be self-sufficient. In fiscal year 1972, this program employed slightly over 5,000 older workers in such activities and, through them, reached many thousands of others who benefited from their services. President Nixon acknowledged the value of such programs in his speech to the 1971 White House Conference on Aging, saying: Some of the best service programs for older Americans are those which give older Americans a chance to serve. Thousands of older Americans have found that their work in hospitals S. Rept. 92-1133 5 and churches, in parks, and in schools gives them a new sense Federal programs to provide such opportunities have Despite the accolades the senior community service employment projects have earned, they have continued on a pilot basis with sufficient resources to employ only a fraction of those who are eligible and who have indicated a desire to participate. The National Council on Aging had eight applicants for every position available in the senior community service project. The National Council of Senior Citizens, the National Farmers Union, and the AARP/NRTA all report that many thousands more older people could be employed under the program if the necessary funds were available. S. 555 is intended to provide the needed opportunities by establishing an identifiable program within the Department of Labor to continue and expand upon the pilot program conducted under Operation Mainstream. Under this legislation $100 million is authorized for fiscal year 1973 and $150 million is authorized for fiscal year 1974 for the purpose of funding programs providing employment to older Americans. The bill authorizes the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with public or private nonprofit organizations, agencies of State and local governments, and Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations to provide for the sponsorship of these projects by such organizations with the Federal Government paying up to 90 percent of the costs of the project except in certain limited situations in which 100 percent of the cost may be paid. It is intended that the program would be conducted under the authority granted by this legislation shall be similar to the pilot program conducted in the past under Operation Mainstream with such changes as have been necessitated by the experience gained in the pilot program. National organizations, such as those previously named, that have acted as sponsors of the Mainstream projects would continue to be eligible to participate. In view of the success that has been achieved under the pilot program the committee is hopeful that there will be continued participation by these organizations. The program established herein will continue to be aimed at individuals aged 55 or older who have a low income and who have, or would have, difficulty in securing other employment. In designating "low income" persons as those primarily to be benefited under this program, the committee has avoided the designation of any precise income level as a condition of eligibility with a view toward retaining the flexibility in determining eligibility that has characterized the pilot projects. It is not our intention that participation be denied an individual having an income that may be a few dollars in excess of some designated poverty index; at the same time, priority in funding should go to projects serving primarily low income persons and priority in determining eligibility of individuals should go to those who have the greatest need for additional income. Although the services to be performed by older Americans are designated as "community service" activities, it should be emphasized S. Rept. 92-1133 |