of persons living in such neighborhoods as thought to be elderly, the program should be of assistance in improving the housing conditions of senior citizens. The Comptroller of the Currency is a member of the board of directors of the task force encouraging participation by lenders.

ITEM 10. ACTION

DECEMBER 15, 1976.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In response to your request of November 9, 1976, I am enclosing a report summarizing ACTION's activities for older Americans during 1976.

Older Americans participate or are recipients of services in almost every program within ACTION's volunteer family. The number of volunteers 60 and over working in ACTION programs domestically and internationally (Peace Corps) total over 222,000.

The great majority of ACTION older volunteers work in one of three older American volunteer programs, respectively entitled foster grandparent, senior companion, and retired senior volunteer programs. Title II of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act (Public Law 93-113) incorporates the older American volunteer programs' authorizing legislation. The only legislative action during the last year affecting the older American volunteer programs was an amendment to Public Law 93-113 providing for continuation of foster grandparent care to the mentally retarded past the chronological age of 21.

However, there are many volunteers 60 and above who are working in other programs within ACTION. The following statistics indicate the number and percentage of those 60 years of age and over who are serving in some other ACTION programs in 1976:

1 These programs are for students and consequently would only rarely enlist as volunteers those beyond the normal school age.

2 A substantial percentage of those serving Peace Corps are in the age group 50-60-some 183.

It is important to note that many recipients of ACTION's volunteer services are elderly. For example, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) estimates that approximately 20 percent of all VISTA volunteers work in antipoverty projects geared specifically toward services to older people. Many other VISTA projects, though not directed solely toward the elderly, impact significantly on poverty-related problems common to many elderly such as housing, food and nutrition, legal services, welfare assistance and referral services.

The older American volunteer is a tremendous natural resource. The enclosed report on the older American volunteer programs of ACTION explains how these programs have made life more rewarding and enriching for the older American volunteer and those they serve.

Sincerely,

WILLIAM B. PRENDERGAST,

Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs. [Enclosure.]

DOMESTIC VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

FOSTER GRANDPARENT PROGRAM (FGP)

The foster grandparent program (FGP) provides opportunities for low-income persons, age 60 and over, to offer supportive person-to-person services in health, education, welfare, and related settings to children with special needs.

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The program was originally developed as a cooperative effort between the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (Administration on Aging). It was given a legislative base in 1969 under title VI, part B, of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended. In July 1971, the program was transferred to ACTION in accordance with Executiye Reorganization Plan No. 1. Current authorizing legislation is title II, part B of Public Law 93-113, the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended. The foster grandparent program is designed to meet the needs of two groups; low-income older Americans and children with physical, mental, social, or emotional needs. This activity is intended to enable older persons to maintain a sense of personal worth and self-respect, to enrich social contacts and retain physical and mental alertness. Foster grandparents do not displace salaried installational staff, but complement staff care to special children with the love and personal concern essential to their well-being.

ACTION grants to support the operation of foster grandparent programs are awarded to public or private nonprofit agencies and organizations. Settings where foster grandparents serve include correctional facilities; pediatric wards of general hospitals; schools; day care centers; private homes; and institutions for mentally retarded, physically handicapped, emotionally disturbed, and dependent and neglected children. Foster grandparents serve 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, and receive a small stipend for their service. They are also reimbursed for, or provided with, transportation and, where possible, a meal daily. They are covered by accident and liability insurance and receive annual physical examinations. Orientation, in-service instructions, and personal counseling are provided by project staff.

The fiscal year 1977 appropriation for the foster grandparent program is $34 million. The program has grown to a strength of 13,934 foster grandparents (September 1976) serving more than 34,000 children. There are now 184 projects. The foster grandparent program has provided many insights into the potential use of the elderly in community settings by demonstrating that older persons have the talent, skills, experience, and desire to serve their communities. Foster grandparents surveyed in 1975 expressed improved satisfaction with life, improved feeling of usefulness to others, improved personal happiness and less financial worry. Three-quarters of those surveyed stated that their affiliation with the program is one of the most important events to occur within the past 5 years of their lives.

The following cases exemplify how the foster grandparent program offers to the children served an opportunity to participate more fully in the activities and joys of life. In one case a foster grandparent was assigned to a child suffering from near deafness and blindness, who had been classified as mentally retarded. Through the efforts of the foster grandparent and a psychologist at the State hospital where the child resided, it was determined that the child was not a retardate. He is now in a regular school and is studying braille. Another foster grandparent was assigned to a child who had never spoken. The grandparent sang to the child and encouraged her to sing, and eventually to articulate single words. Today, the girl can talk and sing simple lullabies. Still another foster grandparent, assigned to a male child suffering from starvation due to his refusal to eat, brought fruit to the boy daily and spoke to him in his native tongue (Spanish). The boy responded and gained 14 pounds after a few months with his grandpa. Doctors in the pediatric ward of a large hospital report that through the love and tender handling of the foster grandparents assigned to babies diagnosed as failure-to-thrive, the babies are able to eat and thus increase their chances of survival. Numerous other examples attest to the ability of the foster grandparents to train the untrainable and give reason for hope to the hopeless.

SENIOR COMPANION PROGRAM (SCP)

The senior companion program provides meaningful opportunities for lowincome persons, age 60 and over, to offer person-to-person supportive services to adults, especially older persons, living in their own homes and in residential and nonresidential group care facilities.

The senior companion program, an older American community services program, was originally authorized under title VI, part V, of the Older Americans Comprehensive Services Amendments of 1973. Current authorizing legislation is title II, part B, of Public Law 93-113, the Domestic Volunteer Services Act of 1973, as amended.

The senior companion program, like the foster grandparent program, is available to low-income older persons. It provides them with opportunities through volunteer service to maintain a sense of self-worth, retain physical and mental alertness, and enrich social contacts. Additionally, the provision of a stipend and other direct benefits enables them to partially overcome the combined hardships of poverty and old age.

ACTION grants to support the operation of senior companion projects are awarded to public and private nonprofit agencies and organizations. Volunteer stations where senior companions serve include hospitals, nursing home, intermediate care facilities or homes for the aged, and various health, welfare, or related settings. Senior companions are also assigned to assist others, especially older persons, to remain in their own homes or familiar surroundings.

Senior companions serve 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, and receive a small stipend for their service. They are also reimbursed for transportation and provided with a meal, where possible, during orientation and on days when service is rendered. They are covered by accident and liability insurance and receive annual physical examinations. An orientation and in-service instruction program is provided, and through the project staff, senior companions receive counseling on personal matters, as well as information and referral services.

The senior companion program, first operational in 1974, has grown from 18 pilot projects and 1,000 senior companions in fiscal year 1975 to 46 projects and approximately 2,600 senior companions as of December 1976.

The need for such a program that provides meaningful service by older adults to older adults is evidenced by the rapid growth of local senior companion projects and the wide array of services provided, such as the following.

A senior companion in Kandiyohi County, Minn., who is providing service to a lady recipient, called upon the woman one day and found her unconscious and bleeding in her kitchen. She took charge of the situation and called an ambulance. Medical assistance was provided and the woman is now back in her home. A senior companion, age 66, is providing service to a male recipient, age 60, who was institutionalized because of a stroke which had paralyzed his whole right side from his face to his foot. The recipient, who was formerly unable to stand or even get up in bed, is now back in his own home in a wheelchair. The senior companion visits him 5 days a week and is providing therapy so that the man can now move both his right arm and leg.

A senior companion in Appalachia provided support so that an older person in an isolated area was able to live at home rather than being placed in a nursing home.

Serving others has brought satisfaction to many volunteers, who realize how much their efforts are needed and appreciated.

RETIRED SENIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM (RSVP)

The purpose of the retired senior volunteer program is to develop a recognized role in the community and a meaningful life in retirement for older adults through significant volunteer service.

Originally authorized under the Older Americans Act Amendments of 1969, RSVP became operational in 1971 when the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (Administration on Aging) funded 11 projects. In July 1971, the program was transferred to ACTION in accordance with Executive Reorganization Plan No. 1. Current authorizing legislation is title II, part A, of Public Law 93-113, the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended.

ACTION grants are "warded to local public agencies and nonprofit private organizations to support the development and operation of RSVP projects providing volunteer opportunities for persons 60 years of age and over. Transportation reimbursement is provided the RSVP volunteers between their homes and the volunteer stations where they serve. Accident and liability insurance are also provided.

As an inherently local program, each RSVP project is 1 cally planned, operated, controlled and supported on a cost-sharing basis. The ical match starts at 10 percent the first year, 20 percent the second, and for the third and subsequent budget periods remains at a maximum of 30 percent fo. the local share and 70 percent for the federal contribution. Exceptions to this requirement may be granted by ACTION in individual cases of demonstrated need.

RSVP projects encourage organizations and agencies to develop a wide variety of volunteer service opportunities for retired or semiretired persons. The focal

point of RSVP activity is the preference of the volunteers, for whom opportunities are arranged to match interests, abilities, and physical capabilities. There are no income, education or experience requirements to becoming an RSVP volunteer. Orientation or instruction for volunteer assignments is provided when necessary. Older adults, including the handicapped and isolated elderly, are sought out and actively encouraged to contribute their time and experience in service to their communities.

Assignments arranged for RSVP volunteers offer varied opportunities to serve people of all ages. ACTION grants are awarded to publicly owned and operated facilities or projects and to private, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers serve in schools, courts, libraries, museums, hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers, institutions, and programs for shut-ins.

In the last 5 years, the retired senior volunteer program has experienced dramatic growth. In 1973, the program more than doubled in size to a total of 590 local RSVP projects located in all 50 States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Almost 65,000 RSVP volunteers were in service by the close of fiscal year 1974, at which time project strength had increased to 666. This number of projects was maintained during fiscal year 1975, while the number of volunteers continued to increase. In September 1975, there were over 162,000 RSVP volunteers, and as of September 30, 1976, there were over 205,000 RSVP volunteers serving in 680 projects.

In December 1973, a study of the retired senior volunteer program identified benefits derived from participation in RSVP by both senior volunteers and volunteer stations. Nearly three-fourths of volunteer stations included in the study indicated that senior volunteers provided a valuable supplement to their staff, and nearly two-thirds stated that they would be forced to cut services or activities in the absence of the RSVP volunteers. More than half of the senior volunteers included in the study indicated that they felt better physically, and nearly four-fifths stated they felt better mentally, due to their volunteer experience. In addition, study data indicated that a majority of senior volunteers who lived alone experienced an increase in community involvement and a reduction in isolation as a result of RSVP.

Numerous examples illustrate the value of the contributions of RSVP volunteers to their communities.

The director of education at a State correctional school wrote: "Three of our former students. . . were all tutored by RSVP volunteers and the three all said they would not have finished high school or passed the high school equivalency test without this help."

Retired senior volunteers in Virginia serve in schools, institutions, senior citizens' centers, nutrition centers, hospitals, museums, and city and county government units. During fiscal year 1976, they collected and repaired clothes for the children of migrant farmworkers in the Tidewater area, and operated a book exchange for the inmates of the Giles County jail.

The King County, Wash., AFL-CIO RSVP station provided free home maintenance and repair services to low-income elderly. Volunteers-all union retirees also offered vocational training to the handicapped and provided transportation services and visits to shut-ins.

A major thrust of the program in the future will be to place many additional RSVP volunteers in public schools, not only to assist staff members, but also to pass on to the youth in the schools the volunteers' personal experiences and the acquired wisdom of one generation to another.

ITEM 11. CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD

DECEMBER 22, 1976.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your letter of November 9, 1976, requesting a summary of the Board's major actions on aging during 1976, including some mention of planned activities for 1977.

Discounts for the elderly have been proposed by the carriers at various times, and the Board, because of the inherent discrimination in limiting discounts to a specified class of ratepayers on the basis of the status of the class, has ordered these fares investigated. Any such investigation was mooted when the domestic carriers canceled such proposals rather than pursuing them to investigation. While discounts for the elderly have not been tested in the courts, two Federal court decisions directly questioned the discount fares which the carriers were

offering to youth and family groups. According to the courts, in evaluating the justification of a prima facie discriminatory fare, the Board may not consider factors, such as age, which are related to the status of the traffic but are unrelated to transportation-nor is the Board empowered to take into account social policies which might be advanced as a basis for favoring one group of farepayers over another. Those policies are for Congress to decide.

As a consequence of the court decisions, the Board conducted a formal investigation into the lawfulness of the youth and family discount fares. After a full evidentiary hearing, the Board found the youth and family fares to be unjustly discriminatory and the domestic carriers no longer offer such discounts. In view of this precedent, the Board ordered an investigation of a proposal by Hawaiian Airlines to offer senior citizen discounts for travel within the State of Hawaii. Instead of canceling these fares, Hawaiian Airlines pursued the matter to formal investigation. Evidentiary hearings were held in Honolulu in August of 1975, the Administrative Law Judge issued an initial decision in the matter on January 12, 1976, and the Board issued a final opinion on October 1, 1976, which found that the fares in question are unjustly discriminatory and should be canceled. In a concurring statement members Minetti and West recommended passage of legislation authorizing such discount fares for the aged. Disposition of a petition filed by Hawaiian Airlines for reconsideration of the Board's opinion is pending.

In August 1976, a member of the Board's staff appeared before the House Subcommittee on Aviation to offer the Board's views with respect to H.R. 14866, a bill to amend section 403(b) of the Federal Aviation Act to authorize standby service at reduced fares for elderly persons, young persons, and the handicapped. While the Board recognizes the prerogatives of the Congress to determine questions of social policy, it is better, in the Board's view, to encourage airlines to offer a variety of discount fares such as night coach fares, group fares, excursion fares, inclusive tour fares, and advanced booking charters, which are available to all persons, rather than to allow fares which are restricted only to certain favored classes of persons.

Other than disposing of Hawaiian's petition for reconsideration mentioned above, the Board has no plans for any further activity related to the aging during the remainder of 1976, and has no activities contemplated relating particularly to the aged and aging during 1977.

We are pleased to receive a copy of the report of the Special Committee on Aging and have forwarded it to our library for cataloging and use as a reference work.

Sincerely,

JOHN E. ROBSON, Chairman.

ITEM 12. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

DECEMBER 17, 1976.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN': This is in response to your letter of November 9, 1976, inviting us to submit a summary of our major actions on aging during 1976. Enclosed is our report on these activities, entitled "Major 1976 Activities of the Civil Service Commission Affecting Rights and Benefits of Older Americans." Related activities during the next year should again focus on efforts to assure nondiscrimination on account of age in Federal employment and to provide services and assistance related to administration of the civil service retirement system and the retired Federal employees health benefits program. We hope our report offers a helpful addition to the committee's publication for this year. If any other information is needed, please let us know.

Sincerely yours,

[Enclosure.]

ROBERT E. HAMPTON, Chairman.

MAJOR 1976 ACTIVITIES OF THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION AFFECTING RIGHTS AND BENEFITS OF OLDER AMERICANS

AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT (ADEA) PROGRAM

The Commission (and Federal agencies) continued the program to assure nondiscrimination on account of age under the law, as amended in 1974, and implementing Commission regulations. This included policy interpretations;