Pepper, Hon. Claude, a U.S. Representative from the 11th District of the 243 Mayer, Dr. Jean, professor of nutrition, Harvard University. 254 Prepared statement of__. 261 O'Malley, James J., acting director, New York Office for the Aging- 266 269 Chaskes, Charles H., executive director, Michigan State Commission on 273 McLoud, Clifford W., executive director, Senior Citizens of Dade County, 280 Prepared statement of___ 283 Barnes, San Juan, director, Senior Neighborhood and Companion Club, 285 Kramer, Edward J., director, Services to the Aged, Henry Street Settlement, New York City-- 286 Prepared statement of.. 288 Simonsen, Ivan, director, Senior Services, Western Idaho Community 290 Prepared statement of___. 291 Martin, Hon. John B., Commissioner, Administration on Aging; accompanied by: Donald Reilly, Deputy Commissioner; Charles Wells, Acting Director, State and Community Services; 294 APPENDIXES Appendix 1. Material submitted by the witnesses: From Dr. Jean Mayer: Barron's, June 5, 1972 editorial commentary "Let Them Eat 313 From James J. O'Malley: From Elizabeth Breckinridge: Page Specific comments on the proposed Rules and Regulations, as 317 Map of Illinois by counties-percent of people, 18 and over, who 327 Map of Illinois by counties-Number of black people 65 and over__ 328 329 Table 1970 Census-Black people 65+ by county. 330 From Edward J. Kramer : Letter of May 4, 1972 from Birmingham, Mich‒‒‒‒‒ 332 Appendix 2. Material from other than witnesses: From the National Council On The Aging, Inc-- 333 From the National Retired Teachers Association and the American 336 From the Bread & Law Task Force, Burlington, Vt-- 338 From the Food Research and Action Center, New York City. 340 Article: The Washington Post, June 14, 1972 editorial-Thrift at the 367 Public Law 92-258, 92d Congress, S. 1163, March 22, 1972. 368 S. 1588, 92d Cong., 1st Sess., April 20, 1971. 375 S. 3599, 92d Cong., 2d Sess., May 11, 1972_ 401 NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF NATION'S OLDER AMERICANS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 1972 U.S. SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON NUTRITION AND HUMAN NEEDS Washington, D.C. The Select Committee met at 10 a.m.. pursuant to call, in room 1114 of the New Senate Office Building, the Honorable Edward M. Kennedy, presiding. Present Senators Kennedy and Percy. Staff members present: Kenneth Schlossberg, staff director; Gerald S. J. Cassidy, general counsel; Vernon M. Goetcheus, senior minority professional staff; and Elizabeth P. Hottell, minority professional staff. Senator KENNEDY. The meeting will come to order. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR KENNEDY, PRESIDING Senator KENNEDY. We are pleased to be able to open this hearing by the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, into the critical problems of the nutritional needs for the Nation's older Americans. This hearing is being carried out in connection with the Special Committee on the Aging. Currently some 5 million of the Nation's 20 million elderly live on incomes below the poverty level. Another 1.2 million elderly receive incomes just over the poverty level, bringing the number of poor or near poor to 30 percent of the Nation's elderly citizens. And across the Nation in hearings that were held on S. 1163* and on the House version of this measure, it was demonstrated time and again that the failure to provide for the nutritional requirements of elderly isolated persons, particularly low income elderly, spelled early institutionalization. Enactment of S. 1163 represents a first step to end the circle of malnutrition and institutionalization by providing nutritionally balanced meals in a social setting for the Nation's elderly. It represents a clear congressional mandate for meeting the needs of isolated low-income elderly persons, both by providing a base for an adequate diet and by providing a stimulus to their involvement in social activities. It also represents a response to the elderly who testified on the need for this program. *See Appendix 3, Public Law 92–258, p. 368. They understood best the need for a program which would use outreach services to contact the thousands of isolated elderly Americans who live alone in rooming houses and dreary apartments and provide meals in group settings. And they were witness to the success of the pilot programs which had been supported in the past by the Older Americans Act. They could point to friends and relatives who not only received sustenance from the meals themselves but who also benefited from social contact at the community centers or the schools or the churches where the meals were served. And they would cite the side effects of bringing these men and women into situations where they also could obtain information about other elderly programs, counseling about their health and income problems, and an opportunity to become a part of our society once more. And so I am particularly pleased that the administration ended its opposition to this measure and requested the full authorization. The new law authorized $100 million for fiscal year 1973 and $150 million for fiscal year 1974 for grants to the States to supply a minimum of one hot meal per day to persons 60 years of age and older, for at least 5 days a week. The program which is to be administered by the Administration on Aging takes effect on July 1. And now I also am pleased to announce that the House Appropriations Committee has approved the full $100 million requested for fiscal year 1973. I have urged similiar action by the Senate. Our aim today is to provide a forum for exploring the process of implementing this legislation. We have the opportunity to hear the original sponsor of the House version of this legislation, Congressman Claude Pepper, whose work over the years on behalf of the Nation's elderly citizens is well known and who can rightly be viewed as the father of this law. We have as well one of the foremost authorities on nutrition, Dr. Jean Mayer, Chairman of the White House Conference on Nutrition and Chairman of the Nutrition Section of the White House Conference on Aging. In addition, we have State directors and local project directors who speak with the authority of direct involvement in the operations of these programs. And finally, we will have the comments and hopefully the response to the earlier testimony by Commissioner John Martin of the Administration on Aging. I believe that this hearing can be an important corollary to the hearings held last week by the Senate Subcommittee on Aging, which has legislative oversight responsibilities in this area. At that time, while commending the administration witnesses for the general tone of the proposed regulations and the intent to move speedily in their implementation, I raised several questions concerning specific provisions of the legislation. I anticipate that the final regulations will reflect those concerns; and the testimony we hear today, undoubtedly, will provide additional documentation for necessary changes before the regulations become final. Before hearing our witnesses, we want to recognize the Senator from Illinois, Senator Percy, who has been so instrumental over the period of recent years in ensuring that the Senate of the United States would respond to the programs of nutritional needs for the elderly. He, perhaps more than any other Senator, was instrumental in continuing many of the nutritional pilot programs that were being cut out for budgetary reasons; and has, of course, followed this legislation closely and continues to concern himself with these problems. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee and wields great weight there in assuring there is going to be funding. STATEMENT BY SENATOR PERCY Senator PERCY. Thank you. I would like first to indicate that the hearings this morning with the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs are being held in cooperation with the Special Committee on the Aging, and the staff of that committee under William Oriol, the majority staff director, has been extremely cooperative in helping us set up these hearings. I trust that this will be a beginning of what is to be a searching inquiry into the nutritional needs of our Nation's elderly and into the ways of meeting these needs. Aside from infants, no group in our population is as vulnerable to the consequences of poor nutrition as are the elderly. About one quarter of our 20 million senior citizens live at or below the poverty level, and they are the most malnourished segment of the population. Congress recently became aware of the dimensions of the problem of assuring a nutritionally adequate diet to older Americans, of the potential benefits to individuals, and of the savings to society of maximizing the elderly people's ability to remain independent as well as physically and psychologically healthy by assuring him access to nutritionally adequate meals in a social setting. It overwhelmingly approved legislation authored by Senator Kennedy and Congressman Claude Pepper-a bill which I was pleased to cosponsor as the only Republican originally cosponsoring the bill, but which certainly is now a bipartisan program fully supported by the administration-to create a nutrition program for the elderly. This legislation, S. 1163, authorized $100 million for fiscal year 1973 and $150 million for fiscal year 1974 for grants to the States to supply one hot, nourishing meal a day to persons 60 years of age and older, 5 or more days a week. The program, administered by the Administration on Aging, is scheduled to become effective on July 1. Our specific purpose today is to examine in some detail the implementation of this pioneering nutritional program. I believe the Congress has indicated its desire to see these nutritional services made as widely available as quickly as possible. I believe the Administration on Aging has made a commendable effort to achieve this goal. Commissioner John B. Martin and his colleagues have done a great deal since S. 1163 was signed by the President on March 22 to make the program operational by July 1. I also know of and applaud Commissioner Martin's desire to see these nutrition projects put into place only after very careful planning. I am concerned, as are other Members of Congress-and the chairman has indicated some concern on his part-that the great emphasis on State and local planning efforts evident in the proposed regulations not unduly delay the delivery of these nutrition services-if only on a step-by-step basis-to the target population. I take the position that-if this Nation can feed three meals a day to the armed services of this country whether they may be engaged in |