The Adult Education Association deems it of the utmost importance that this assignment to a useful and respected role for older Americans during their later years and the financial assistance that will help to make their participation possible will be, if this bill becomes a law, a matter of stated public policy. Senator KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. McLin?

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM H. McLIN

Mr. McLIN. Mr. Chairman, my name is William H. McLin. I am assistant director of the Division of Federal Relations of the National Education Association.

To digress for a moment on a personal note, I am very deeply impressed by the Senator's notation that my former residence was in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I would say that this subject is of more than academic interest to me because both Mrs. McLin and I receive monthly checks from the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement. Board, after many years' service in the public schools of the Commonwealth.

The limitation S. 276 places on the Federal contribution, so that it may no longer go as high as 100 percent, is in our opinion a very good one, for it helps to emphasize that provision for the welfare of older Americans is not only a national responsibility but a State and local one as well.

We like this idea of the indirect limitation placed on the hours of work by a ceiling on the compensation rather than upon the hours themselves, because it helps to do away with the idea that the usefulness of older Americans is of limited value.

The change of the restriction upon such compensation from $125 per month to $1,500 per annum will make not only for greater flexibility in the program, but it will tend to make the participants attach greater importance to the work, since any loss of time can be made up under these circumstances. The provision in the bill that would require "maximum feasible participation" in the program for those who are aged 60 and above will emphasize its seriousness of purpose.

The authorization for a sharp increase in the financing of the program is also commendable.

We know that in 1960 there was some 4.6 million persons 60 years of age and over in the labor force and undoubtedly many of these have now retired or are on the verge of retirement. In that total we discovered there were 126,000 public school teachers, and 19,000 college faculty members.

Now there are programs offered to this age group by the Peace Corps or VISTA, that have made it possible for hundreds of these retirees to go on offering the benefit of their abilities to their fellow citizens, but these activities frequently call for a transfer from the home community, and thus set up requirements that many more hundreds of the elderly cannot possibly meet.

There is a pressing need for increasing the opportunities afforded to older Americans to continue to serve the communities in which they have labored for so many years.

The National Education Association, speaking as it does for over 1 million educators in every State of our Federal Union, joins the National Retired Teachers Association and the American Association

of Retired Persons in supporting S. 276, and as a matter of fact, the National Retired Teachers Association is one of the 33 departments of the National Education Association.

The welfare of retired members of our profession is of great concern to NEA as is the welfare of its active members. Those who have literally given their lives to the training of the young, and have thereby preserved their own youthful outlook to a remarkable degree find sudden and total retirement an unusually traumatic experience. Many a teacher truly fits the description conjured up by the poet's words:

"Touched by some grace the gods impart, time writes no wrinkles on his heart."

We take particular note of section 603 of S. 276, which provides among other things that the program will not result in the displacement of employed workers or impair existing contracts for services. We feel certain that the membership of other professions is as concerned about this matter as we are, for many of them, like education, grant to their members a lifetime credential or license to practice, and the opportunity therefore exists, and the temptation in the face of a shortage of personnel may become very great, to reemploy retirees at a substantially lower rate of compensation, and without the fringe benefits customarily accompanying such employment. Such procedures have had a very deleterious effect upon professions such as teaching in the past, and the suppression of them calls for constant vigilance.

We appreciate this opportunity to present our views on this matter. We stand ready to render any assistance possible to the committee in drafting the final form of the proposals embodied in S. 276.

Senator KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Thank you very much, Mr. McLin, for your very helpful testimony. We appreciate it. We are delighted to have you here and appreciate your testimony. Your complete statement will be inserted into the transcript.

(The prepared statement follows:)

PREPARED STATEMENT OF WILLIAM H. McLIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF FEDERAL RELATIONS, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, my name is William H. McLin. I am an assistant director of the Division of Federal Relations of the National Education Association.

Last year the National Education Association set forth its views on Senate bills S. 2877 and S. 3326 on the subject of amending the Older Americans Act of 1965 in a letter to Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr., under date of July 19, 1966 signed by Dr. J. L. McCaskill, Assistant Executive Secretary for State and Federal Relations. On August 7, 1967 Dr. John M. Lumley, Director of the Division of Federal Relations, sent a letter to Senator Edward M. Kennedy stating our position on S. 276. It is for the purpose of reiterating these two statements that I now appear before your Committee.

The Association is pleased to note that the name of the project proposed in S. 276 has been changed from "National Community Senior Service Corps" to "Older Americans Community Service Program" as being more in harmony with the legislation of 1965 which it would amend. The limitation placed on the Federal contribution so that it may no longer go as high as 100% is a good one, for it helps to emphasize that provisions for the welfare of older Americans is not only a national responsibility but a state and local one as well. The indirect limitation placed upon the hours of work of those enrolled in the program by a ceiling on the compensation rather than upon the hours of work helps to do away with the idea that the usefulness of older Americans is of limited value. The change of the restriction upon such compensation from $125 per month to $1500 per annum will

make for greater flexibility in the program and will tend to make the participants attach greater importance to the work since any loss of time due to temporary incapacity can thus be "made up". The provision in S. 276 which would require "maximum feasible participation” in the program for those who are aged 60 and above will emphasize the seriousness of purpose that underlies the activity to both enrollees and observers. The authorization for a sharp increase in the financing of the program is commendable.

At the present time, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 millions of our fellow Americans have passed the age of 65. We have been unable to come upon any breakdown of the talents and skills represented in this group. But we do know that in 1960 there were some 4.6 millions of persons 60 years and over and undoubtedly many of these have now retired or are on the verge of retirement. Included in this total were 126,000 public school teachers, 19,000 college faculty members, and 11,000 librarians. The tragedy of the wasted human resources incidental to the abrupt termination of employment of people with talents possessed by such as these is indeed a national tragedy as well as a poignant personal one. The programs offered to this age group by the Peace Corps or VISTA have made it possible for hundreds of these retirees to go on offering the benefit of their abilities to their fellow citizens. These activities call frequently for a transfer form the home community and thus set up requirements that many more hundreds of the elderly cannot meet. There is a pressing need for increasing the opportunities afforded to older Americans to continue to serve the communities in which they have labored for so many years. Such an increase could bring incalculable benefits to society and immense satisfaction and some small profit to the individuals who would be given the chance to render such service.

The National Education Association speaking as it does for over 1 million educators in every state joins the National Retired Teachers Association and the American Association of Retired Persons in supporting S. 276. The National Retired Teachers Association is, in fact, one of the 33 departments of the National Education Association. The welfare of retired members of the teaching profession is as much a primary interest of N.E.A. as is the welfare of the active members. Those who have literally given their lives to the training of the young and who have thereby preserved their own youthful outlook to a remarkable degree find sudden and total retirement an unusually traumatic experience. Many a teacher truly fits the description conjured up by the poet's words:

"Touched by some grace the gods impart, Time writes no wrinkles on his heart." We take particular note of Section 603 of S. 276 which provides among other things that "the program will not result in the displacement of employed workers or impair existing contracts for services." We feel certain that the membership of other professions is as concerned about this matter as we are for many of them, like education, grant to their members a lifetime credential or license to practice. The opportunity therefore exists, and the temptation in the face of a shortage of personnel may become very great, to re-employ retirees at a substantially lower rate of compensation and without the fringe benefits customarily accompanying such employment. Such procedures have had a very deleterious effect upon professions such as teaching in the past and the suppression of them calls for constant vigilance.

To state the mater bluntly, we do not want to see legislation in this field that could be twisted from its original purpose so as to become a source of cheap labor. We believe that it would be desirable to have and we urge the inclusion in the provisions of the bill a section authorizing the payment of modest stipends for transportation and lunch money in circumstances where such procedures seem desirable.

We apreciate this opportunity to present our views on this matter. We stand ready to render any assistance possible to the Committee in drafting the final form of the proposals embodied in S. 276.

STATEMENT OF EDWARD WALKER, MIAMI, OKLA.

Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman and members of this distinguished and important committee, my name is Edward Walker. My place of residence is Miami, Okla.

I appear here today as a representative of the American Nursing Home Association, of which I am president. Present with me are Mr.

Alfred Ercolano, executive director, and Mr. Frank Zelenka, assistant executive director of ANHA.

The American Nursing Home Association is a nonprofit organization serving the Nation's long-term-care facilities and their patients through educational and research activities and services. It represents in excess of 7,800 facilities with almost 400,000 beds in 49 of the 50 States. It counts among its members both proprietary and nonproprietary institutions. In truth, it has more nonproprietary members than does the association which limits its membership to nonproprietary facilities.

The association is proud of the role it has played, since its inception in 1949, in raising standards for both facilities and patient care across this Nation. As late as 1950, only five States had licensing laws regulating nursing homes, while today every State has such laws. The American Nursing Home Association played a considerable role in bringing this about.

The association is equally proud of the role it is playing in the Medicare and Medicaid programs under the Social Security Act. Approximately 70 percent of the extended care facilities certified under Medicare are members of ANHA. These 70 percent of Medicare ECF's provide 72 percent of the Medicare's ECF beds.

Mr. Chairman, ANHA is proud and grateful that you have invited us to appear here to testify concerning S. 276.

Let me say immediately that the American Nursing Home Association, with no hesitance and with complete enthusiasm, endorses the concept, principles and provisions of S. 276.

The passage of Public Law 89-73, better known as the Older Americans Act, was a shining landmark in the history of social legislation in the United States. The provisions embodied in S. 276 would enhance and embellish that act. You, as well as Senator Harrison Williams and the other distinguished Senators sponsoring this bill, are to be commended for having done so in the 89th Congress and for doing so, hopefully with success, in this Congress.

The actions envisioned in and by an Older Americans Community Service program are things that need doing and ought already to have been done.

Philosophers have defined a complete and primary truth-that is, an axiomatic truth-as being one where all of the subject is all of the predicate. The concept embodied in S. 276-namely, that of older Americans continuing to assist the Nation as well as other older Americans most emphatically meets this definition. Hence, it is difficult to comprehend any opposition to its enactment.

The ANHA, therefore, not only endorses it, but offers whatever assistance you may call upon us for, both to its enactment and to its implementation.

Mr. Chairman, we have read the history of this bill and that of its predecessor, S. 2877; we have read the testimony of the hearings in the second session of the 89th Congress, and we have read the comments of Senator Williams when he introduced S. 276 on January 12 of this year.

Let me say only that we subscribe to all the positive statements thereto and that, for sake of brevity, we will not emphasize the

obvious by restating the real need for an Older Americans Community Service Program. We will, however, make one suggestion, which we hope can add to the program and, therefore, be added to the bill.

We suggest that the singularly successful Foster Grandparent Plan be adapted to the needs of the elderly in our Nation's nursing homes. We offer no technical details as to how this should be done, that is, whether it should be, as is the Foster Grandparent Plan, a joint program utilizing both the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Administration on Aging; or whether it should be an entirely separate program from the Foster Grandparent Plan. This we leave to those most competent to judge and so determine.

What we offer is an idea which we think is in harmony with the underlying concept and principles contained in S. 276, namely, the return to gainful and meaningful activity on the part of able older Americans within a program serving other but incapacitated older Americans and, in that way, serving the community. In short, let America be served by having the elderly help the elderly.

It is our thought that, perhaps, none could do it so well since older people are usually more comfortable in the presence of other older people.

There is a problem, however, and not to examine it would be a disservice to you. The problem is as follows: whereas 85 percent of the Nation's nursing homes are proprietary facilities, section 603 provides on page 4, lines 6 and 8, that

*** such services will be performed * ** either (A) on publicly-owned and operated facilities or projects, or (B) on local projects sponsored by private nonprofit organizations * *.

It is our hope that this problem can be resolved in such manner that, under the provisions of the Older Americans Act, service programs to patients similar to those of the Foster Grandparent Plan may be permitted to take place in all long-term care facilities, both proprietary as well as nonproprietary. To do otherwise is to severely limit the program.

We see no conflict in permitting these programs to take place in all long-term care facilities since the program envisions a direct service not to the facility but the patient therein.

This is poignantly underscored when it is realized that there are more public assistance patients in proprietary facilities than there are such patients in nonproprietary facilities-about 50 to 60 percent in the country-in my own State of Oklahoma about 80 percent of the patients are of the so-called welfare public assistance type.

Mr. Chairman, may I impose upon the subcommittee, at this point, to describe the nursing home and the role it plays in medical care and health care?

I do so with the purpose that it may serve this committee in its deliberations.

Probably no other segment of the health care field has undergone as rapid or as dramatic a change as has the nursing home in this past decade. Nursing homes have moved from converted dwellings into modern new facilities specifically designed to provide skilled nursing care in an environment as closely related to that of the traditional family home as institutional architecture can achieve.