May 3, 1973 - 35 Pub. Law 93-29 section (a) for any fiscal year which the Secretary determines will not be required for that year shall be reallotted, from time to time and on such dates during such year as the Secretary may fix, to projects within other States in proportion to the original allotments to projects within such States under subsection (a) for that year, but with such proportionate amount for any of such other States being reduced to the extent it exceeds the sum the Secretary estimates that projects within such State need and will be able to use for such year; and the total of such reductions shall be similarly reallotted among the States whose proportionate amounts were not so reduced. Any amount reallotted to a State under this subsection during a year shall be deemed part of its allotment under subsection (a) for that year. (c) The amount apportioned for projects within each State under subsection (a) shall be apportioned among areas within each such State in an equitable manner, taking into consideration the proportion which eligible persons in each such area bears to such total number of such persons, respectively, in that State. DEFINITIONS SEC. 907. As used in this title (a) "State" means any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; (b) "eligible individual" means an individual who is fifty-five years old or older, who has a low income, and who has or would have difficulty in securing employment, except that pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary any such individual who is sixty years old or older shall have priority for the work opportunities provided for under this Act; (c) "community service" means 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. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 908. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973, and $100,000,000 for fiscal year ending June 30, 1974, to carry out the provisions of this title. Approved May 3, 1973. 87 STAT 64 Pub. Law 93-29 - 36 May 3, 1973 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: HOUSE REPORT No. 93-43 accompanying H. R. 71 (Comm. on Education and Labor). SENATE REPORT No. 93-19 (Comm. on Labor and Public Welfare). Feb. 20, considered and passed Senate. Mar. 13, considered and passed House, amended, in lieu of H. R. 71. Apr. 18, Senate concurred in House amendment with an amendment; WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 9, No. 18: TITLE-BY-TITLE SUMMARY OF PUBLIC LAW 93-29, APPROVED MAY 3, 1973 TITLE I-DECLARATION OF OBJECTIVES States four objectives of the 1973 Amendments, which generally place emphasis on the need to make comprehensive social service programs available to older Americans and to insure their participation in the development of these programs. Amends the objectives of the Older Americans Act by making access to low-cost transportation an objective of the Act. TITLE II-ADMINISTRATION ON AGING This title establishes the Administration on Aging and places it within the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. AoA is headed by a Commissioner on Aging who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Administration on Aging is given primary responsibility for carrying out the programs authorized under the act. It provides that the Commissioner shall be directly responsible to the Office of the Secretary and that the Commissioner's functions may not be delegated unless a delegation plan is first submitted to Congress and within thirty days of submitting the plan, the Secretary consults with the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare and the House Committee on Education and Labor. The plan will be effective sixty days after it was first transmitted to Congress. The title assigns eight new functions to the Administration on Aging and expands one of its existing functions. The Commissioner in consultation with the Director of Action is authorized to encourage voluntary organizations to become involved in programs for the Aging. Title II also requires Federal agencies proposing to establish aging programs or administering such programs to consult with and cooperate with the Administration on Aging. This title also creates within AoA a National Information and Resource Clearing House for the Aging which is authorized to collect, analyze, prepare and disseminate information regarding the needs and interests of older Americans. It will also carry out a program for the collection and dissemination of information about consumer interests of older persons, and will encourage the establishment of State and local information centers and will provide technical assistance to them. In addition, title II contains a section establishing a Federal Council on the Aging which will be composed of 15 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Council will assist and advise the President on matters relating to the needs of older Americans; review and evaluate the impact on the lives of older Americans of Federal policies and programs on the aging; serve as a spokesman on behalf of older Americans by making recommendations to the Presi dent, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Commissioner on Aging, and the Congress with respect to Federal activities in the field of aging; and undertake programs designed to increase public awareness of the problems and needs of our senior citizens. The Federal Council on the Aging will also undertake various studies designed to further clarify the specific needs of the elderly and recommends solutions to them, with special emphasis on the impact of all taxes on the elderly and the effects of the formulae in Title III upon the States. The Secretary of HEW and Commissioner on Aging are authorized to provide staff, information, and other assistance to the Federal Council on Aging. Title II requires the Secretary to publish general standards for evaluation of programs before funds can be released for activities under the Model Projects section (308) and the Training and Research Title (IV) of the Act, and requires that results of the evaluations of the programs be published annually as part of the annual report required of the Commissioner. A joint funding provision is provided for in this title which is substantially identical to a section of which was previously in the Older Americans Act. It permits the establishment of a single non-Federal share requirement and a waiver of inconsistent contract or grant requirements. Also included is a provision authorizing including appropriations for one fiscal year in the Appropriations Act for the preceding fiscal year. Title II also repeals Title VIII of the Older Americans Act which previously authorized establishment of the Advisory Committee on Older Americans and various technical advisory committees, among other provisions. TITLE III—GRANTS FOR STATES AND AREA PROGRAMS Title III strikes Title III of the Older Americans Act, which concerns State and Community programs on aging, and inserts a completely revised Title III, of that subject. It contains authorizations for fiscal years 1973 through 1975, to enable the Commissioner on Aging to make grants to each State with an approved State plan under Title III for paying part of the cost of (1) the administration of area plans by area agencies on aging, (2) the development of comprehensive and coordinated system for the delivery of social services, and (3) State plan administration. For distributing the appropriations under this authorization among the States, a new allotment formula is provided. based principally upon the ratio of the State's population aged 60 and over to the total U.S. population of that age, but with floors to assure that every State receives a minimum allotment. Each State is required, in order to receive funds and participate in the program, to designate a State agency as the sole State agency to develop an annual State plan and to administer the State plan within the State. The designated State agency is required to divide the entire State into distinct areas, referred to as planning and service areas, to determine for which of these areas an area plan will be developed, and to designate an area agency for each such area. Each area agency on aging is required to develop an area plan on aging which meets certain specified requirements, designed to assure the efficient and effectiveness provision of services to the area's elderly. Areas designed by the State agency to develop area plans will be allotted a major share of the funds allotted to the State for Title III services for the elderly, and funds can be made available to them on a more favorable matching basis (up to 90 percent Federal to 10 percent non-Federal) than to areas not so designated (maximum of 75 percent Federal). The State agency will decide how to apportion the area planning and social service funds allotted to do it under the formula specified in the revised Title III, but it will be able to allot not more than 15 percent of its allotment for the cost of administration of area plans, and (after June 30, 1975) not more than 20 percent of the cost of social services which are not provided as a part of a comprehensive and coordinated system in planning and service areas for which there is an approved State Plan. The section of Title III regarding model projects is also revised, principally by requiring special consideration in approving grants and contracts to be given projects designed to assist in meeting special housing needs of older persons, providing continuing education for them, providing preretirement education and information, and assisting in meeting the particular needs of the physically and mentally impaired elderly. TITLE IV-TRAINING AND RESEARCH Strikes Title IV and V of the Older Americans Act and reenacts their substance as a revised Title IV. Requires the Commissioner, from time to time, to appraise existing and future personnel needs in the field of aging and the adequacy of the Nation's efforts to meet them, and to publish an annual report evaluating the plans and programs of other Federal agencies covering the condition of the professions active in the field of aging. The Commissioner would also be authorized to make grants and to enter into contracts to: Publicize opportunities for careers in the field of aging; Encourage qualified persons to enter or reenter the field of aging; Encourage individuals of various professions, vocations, and skills to undertake temporary or part-time assignments in the field of aging; or Prepare and disseminate recruitment and training materials. In addition, the authority to make grants or contracts to assist in training persons who are employed or preparing for employment in fields relating to aging is continued for three additional years in the revised Title IV. The revised Title IV also continues for three additional years the authority to make research and development project grants and contracts for: Studying patterns and conditions of living of older persons; Developing or demonstrating new ways of contributing toward wholesome and meaningful living for older persons; Developing or demonstrating ways to achieve or improve coordination of community services for older persons; Evaluating ways of assisting older persons to enjoy wholesome and meaningful lives and to contribute to the strength and welfare of the Nation; Collecting and disseminating information concerning research and demonstration results; and Conducting conferences to facilitate exchange of information. |