As I think of the State of Florida with our 900,000 people 65 and over, I believe that we're No. 1 in the Nation as far as the percentage of our total population 65 and over. And I think it's interesting also to note that particularly here in Florida less than 9 percent of our older people depend upon public assistance, and I think this is tremendous. So I think we're not looking at a State of indigent older persons. We're looking at a State where there is a tremendous wealth of talent and knowledge, experiences, people that are anxious to do something.

Congressman Pepper indicated in his bill where you can use people 65 and older. I think we could set up programs and have an ex-president of General Motors heading up one of these programs for us. We have a project in Clearwater right now that is referred to as "Avon House." The man that is directing that program for us is Dr. Melvin Newquist who for 30 years was the chief medical officer for the Texas Co. and had the direction of their medical programs all over the world. Now he's directing one of our title III programs because he wants to be involved.

Well, I didn't mean to go on about it.

Mr. HANSEN. That leads to one final question: that is, within what radius can people be adequately served and attracted to the center that it establishes?

Mr. McLOUD. Well, I think that there are actually two operations that we're looking at here: one would be the feeding within a center complex itself, and another would be an attempt to actually deliver meals to a home. I think in our experimenting in the Jacksonville area, we have determined that both are effective. With the center feeding you can reach people, say, within a 2-mile radius as long as they can walk to the center. I don't know that 2 miles is too far to walk. But then, on the other hand we have in the rural area a difficult problem on how to get the meals to these people. But I think we have, through experiment, devised a mobile unit that is able to transport these prepared meals to a-say, to a dropoff center with perhaps only 10 meals dropped here, and 10 meals dropped here. Now, these meals can be dropped in an individual's home, and the people that live within close proximity to this home, they can come for their own little center activity in this home. As I indicated earlier, it does not have to be a large center.

Mr. HANSEN. Thank you very much.

Mr. BRADEMAS. Mr. McLoud, I just want to take advantage of your leadership at the State level to put a very quick question to you. What is the State of Florida doing the State that has so many older citizens in it, as you have indicated-to provide leadership from State moneys for the kinds of programs contemplated in Mr. Pepper's bill?

Mr. McLOUD. Well, I hang my head, sir, in shame. The State of Florida is spending less than 4 cents per senior per year for programs. Governor Kirk, at a recent Governors' Conference on Aging that was held in St. Petersburg, in the Tampa area, came before this delegation of 500 people and said, "You know, we're not even spending a nickel for our senior citizens." I'm not sure what the problem is. But I believe that with the proper type of approach to our State legislators— to convince our legislators that our senior citizens are not really a burden, it's going to be a tremendous selling job. I prepared and presented a legislative budget about 2 years ago and had a Senator tell

me, "Well, Mr. McLoud, we just do not develop any more programs for our older people because we invite them into the State of Florida and, then, they just become a burden on the taxpayer and the State." And this is where I said, "I beg your pardon, sír," and I pointed out the fact that there was less than 9 percent receiving public assistance, but pointed out also the senior citizens that we have in the State represent an import into our economy of $212 billion a year; a billion dollars alone to social security. Now, this is quite an industry.

Mr. BRADEMAS. Well, I raise that question because it would seem to me that particularly in this part of the country where, from time to time, one hears a good deal of rhetoric about State's rights, that this area might afford a better exercise in State's responsibilities. And I know, if it's not imprudent of me to make this observation and say to my friend from Florida, Mr. Pepper, that if I were running for Governor in the State of Florida, I think you might hear a rather militant campaign for a Claude Pepper bill at the State level as well as at the national level.

I am sympathetic to the proposal that the bill before us be administered through a State agency, but I must say that I am distressed to find that there's so little leadership that's coming out of your State in an area so crucial to the lives of so many of Florida's citizens. Mr. McLOUD. I think that

Mr. PEPPER. Will my distinguished colleague yield?

Mr. BRADEMAS. Yes.

Mr. PEPPER. I want to express the hope that all of the many candidates for Governor, Democratic and Republican, will take note of what our distinguished chairman has said here today and act accordingly.

Mr. McLOUD. And I think it's very timely.

Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. McLoud, your testimony has been splendid.

The Chair wants to ask Mr. Pepper to introduce our next witness with whom he is well acquainted.

Mr. PEPPER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

It is with a special pleasure that I present to this distinguished committee this fine, noble, dedicated gentleman who is now about to testify. He and his wife are a team esteemed, respected and loved by all of the senior citizens and, indeed, by other people of this area because they're "Mr. and Mrs. Senior Citizen." This gentleman is a member of the executive committee of the National Council of Senior Citizens, always faithful in attendance, always active in participation in the affairs of that great organization. He is also the president of the Senior Citizens Voting League of the State of Florida.

Mr. Chairman, you see out here some people who have on a little button, "Senior Power" and I have presumed to commend to the people who wear that and who symbolize the sentiment, that the senior citizens will come nearer getting candidates for the legislature to do something effective for their interest if they vote and let themselves be heard at the polls.

So, as being president of the Voter's League of Florida for the Senior Citizens, Mr. Chairman, I'm proud to present the Honorable Henry Gilman.

Mr. BRADEMAS, Mr. Gilman, we're pleased to have you and please go right ahead, sir. After that glowing introduction, we're looking forward with special enthusiasm to hearing from you.

STATEMENT OF HENRY GILMAN, PRESIDENT, FLORIDA SENIOR CITIZENS LEAGUE OF FLORIDA

Mr. GILMAN. Thank you, Mr. Congressman Claude Pepper, Mr. Brademas, and Mr. Hansen.

I am going to divert from the preparation of something I had prepared and give a few little details of the situation that we have on Miami Beach. That's where I've been a resident for 14 years; one of the most densely populated areas for our senior citizens. There is a population on all of Miami Beach of approximately 80,000 or 82,000. Sixtyfive thousand are 65 years or older. And we find that close to 48 percent of those are people that are really living in condominiums and low-cost housing, and low-cost apartments that really are in dire need. We had an experience knowing some of the situations that some of our elderly. live under in the Social Security B Complex.

Mrs. Gilman and I were impounded as captain to go up and down all of Miami Beach from the lower dog track all the way to Broward County; to go from door to door and find out why it is our elderly people didn't sign up for the B Complex. And we had an opportunity to really check in that and we saw, oh, better than 38,000 senior citizens, retirees at that time, and that was in 1965. And we had an opportunity of really seeing poverty. We made notations because we testified in Washington before the Ted Kennedy hearing. And we found real poverty-when I say poverty, I mean people that really needed help and they certainly did need it."

I lived on the beach for the last 14 years. I'm supposed to be retired and I got involved with the senior citizens, and I've been working harder than ever. Mrs. Gilman just celebrated her 80th birthday and my 83d and we're just working just as hard as ever to see what is necessary to see what we can do to help our elderly.

And in checking some of the needs for a hot meal or any food for our elderly, we found that on the beach there was a dire need and there was neglect to recognize that fact because it was Miami Beach. It's supposed to be one of the affluent and high-rise apartments of the country. And we found in going around that there was many an old couple who really needed attention; who needed the proper food. They couldn't do for themselves. And we, therefore, saw to it and there was organized a little group known as SOS, and that was "Save our Seniors." We had no means of getting a meal to these people because, although we have some cafeteria facilities at two of our public elementary schools there, it wasn't financed by the city commission and so forth, so we made arrangements to see that these people got food. And day after day this SOS crew went out and they supplied them with Federal food and stamps, and checked them and saw what they needed, and gave them—and done the errands for them. And we had occasion on one before Passover, and as a Jewish holiday, a lot of the same type of food came to them, and we came to one woman, and we came there, and we knocked at the door and she opened up, and we saw that she was partially blind. And I said, "We brought you some

food and I hope that it is something that you can use and appreciate." And she says, "Well, my neighbor will help me. I can't see I didn't have breakfast because I misplaced my dentures and I can't find them" because she couldn't see, so, you know, that's some of the situations and that's when we started to organize crews to go around to people like that to check with them; to call them on the phone and make sure if there's anything they need.

And that is the type of work that is so badly needed and you don't realize it, and you don't know of it until you actually get involved. I'll read now something that I have prepared and it may be some use to that.

The complex human body does need proper food for good health so as to repair constant deteriorating tissue and supply energy for physical activity.

A balanced diet should consist of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The food chosen by most elderly is based on instinct, and influenced by many other factors, such as background, habit, taste, preferences, finance and economic situations. Many persons still consume inadequate and faulty diets which lead to poor health. There is a continuing need to provide information on what is a balanced meal.

I wish to quote from an interview of Dr. Jean Mayer on a "Meet the Press, November 23d, 1969" item, a special consultant to the President of the United States on nutrition and poverty—

We don't have school lunch programs for elderly here on the beach, an excuse given by our city councils and school committees is that schools are old and not equipped. All of us who have traveled by plane know that airlines have no difficulty in feeding people 10 miles up in the air with no cafeterias or kitchens. If we can do that in the air, we surely can do it on the ground. What we need is a clear realization of our responsibility to the elderly and poverty stricken.

Our President, Richard Nixon, has repeatedly said that the aim of his administration was to eliminate hunger, poverty and malnutrition within the next 3 years. This statement was made by Dr. Jean Mayer, the world's greatest nutritional expert, chosen by President Nixon to head the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Poverty.

Poverty seems to be the cause of the greatest percentage of nutritional problems amongst our elderly and according to the Office of Economic Opportunity, there are about 30 million fellow citizens who have incomes below the poverty line and at least one-half just do not have money enough for a sound nutritional diet.

The United States still has 350 counties which have refused to have any food program, and this is quoted from Dr. Jean Mayer's interview on this particular "Meet the Press": Many of these counties have a great deal of poverty which is running into considerable resistance— admission of such conditions is demonstrated by dismissal of the Director of OEO in the State of New Hampshire, who has shown that a condition of malnutrition and hunger definitely existed in his county-so it is not just in the Southern States that there is resistance to that condition.

And what is worse, we ignore our elderly in an era when there has never been a greater need for service to our needy and poverty Sicken.

Instead, America pours billions into armament for Asia and aid for so many foreign countries, but so little for our elderly who ask for so little and still deserve so much.

In this most advanced industrial country in the world with the scientific capacity to land a man on the moon and bring back a few rocks which cost several billion dollars, should make it possible to take care of our poverty and malnutrition stricken millions of elderly who deserve at least one hot meal a day at a nominal cost subsidized by the State and Federal Government. School cafeterias could be used as dining facilities.

Support the National Council of Senior Citizens of Washington, D.C., who have sought to improve the services to all elderly and other age groups.

We must support the Honorable Claude Pepper's bill, H.R. 17763, introduced into Congress for the low-cost meal program and one hot meal a day.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you very much, Mr. Gilman. Mr. Pepper, perhaps you'd like to lead off with any questions?

Mr. PEPPER. Mr. Gilman, are you aware of the demonstration program that we previously had in this area?

Mr. GILMAN. I haven't seen the bill yet.

Mr. PEPPER. No; I mean the program for serving low-cost hot meals.

Mr. GILMAN. Oh, yes, I know that. I'm very much aware because we tried to procure facilities and tried to get that for a lot of the elderly that do need it on the beach.

Mr. PEPPER. How much did that program mean to the people in this area?

Mr. GILMAN. Well, all I can say is that we, in our rough estimate, have canvassed from Fifth Street-lower Fifth Street and down to the track-and found that over 2,000 families actually needed at least one good hot meal and plenty of medication.

Mr. PEPPER. And when that program was discontinued, what was the reaction on the part of the senior citizens of this area to lose it? Was there great sadness?

Mr. GILMAN. That's right, especially here in Miami. When they discontinued the meals here for awhile, boy, we didn't know what these poor people could do. Fortunately, they found funds for it.

Mr. PEPPER. Thank you very much.

Mr. GILMAN. Thank you, sir, and it was a pleasure to testify before

you.

Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you, Mr. Gilman. I'm going to call on Mr. Hansen for any questions.

Mr. HANSEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Gilman, for an excellent statement of the problem.

Let me raise the same question I did earlier to Congressman Pepper and ask for your best judgment on the number of people that would need to be served from some kind of a center in order to make it a feasible operation?

Mr. GILMAN. Well, we have discussed it on the beach as long as a new community center is under construction now. We requested of our city council that there should be a definite facility and kitchen lars